Dataset Information

Life history and chemical ecology of the Warrior wasp Synoeca septentrionalis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Epiponini).

ABSTRACT: Swarm-founding 'Warrior wasps' (Synoeca spp.) are found throughout the tropical regions of South America, are much feared due to their aggressive nest defence and painful sting. There are only five species of Synoeca, all construct distinctive nests that consist of a single sessile comb built onto the surface of a tree or rock face, which is covered by a ribbed envelope. Although locally common, research into this group is just starting. We studied eight colonies of Synoeca septentrionalis, a species recently been described from Brazil. A new colony is established by a swarm of 52 to 140 adults that constructs a colony containing around 200 brood cells. The largest colony collected containing 865 adults and over 1400 cells. The number of queen's present among the eight colonies varied between 3 and 58 and no clear association between colony development and queen number was detected. Workers and queens were morphologically indistinguishably, but differences in their cuticular hydrocarbons were detected, particularly in their (Z)-9-alkenes. The simple cuticular profile, multiple queens, large size and small number of species makes the 'Warrior wasps' an excellent model group for further chemical ecology studies of swarm-founding wasps.

SUBMITTER: Santos EB

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5864055 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Life history and chemical ecology of the Warrior wasp Synoeca septentrionalis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Epiponini).

Santos Eliaber B EB Shemilt Sue S de Carvalho Carlos A L CAL Martin Stephen J SJ

PloS one 20180322 3

Swarm-founding 'Warrior wasps' (Synoeca spp.) are found throughout the tropical regions of South America, are much feared due to their aggressive nest defence and painful sting. There are only five species of Synoeca, all construct distinctive nests that consist of a single sessile comb built onto the surface of a tree or rock face, which is covered by a ribbed envelope. Although locally common, research into this group is just starting. We studied eight colonies of Synoeca septentrionalis, a sp ...[more]

PMID: 29566087

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Project description:Background Between 9.3 and 28.5% of world population are estimated to be allergic to the protein components of Hymenoptera venom and among them, the hyaluronidase (HYAL) is one of the most important, although the nature of its IgE binding epitopes is unknown. Methods Enzyme was purified from P. paulista venom by cation exchange chromatography in AKTA-FPLC system with a Hiprep CM FF column. Fractions with HYAL activity were pooled, lyophilized, dialyzed against distilled water in presence of protease inhibitor (PMSF) and subjected to SDS-PAGE 15%. The only protein bands visualized were submitted to tryptic digestion and to MALDI-ToF/ToF mass spectrometry. Digested peptides produced were compared with partial/complete protein sequences from Data Bank including with the HYAL (Q9U6V9) of Polistes annularis venom used as model. Western blotting was performed with Pp-HYAL-specific antibody to test the identity of pure protein. Results All analysis performed identified the pure protein as an HYAL present in P.paulista venom, which also had its cDNA sequence (GI:302201582) cloned and determined in previous studies, being its high similarity with the Polistes annularis enzyme already confirmed. The mature allergenic protein has 338 amino acids and a molecular weight of 39 KDa. The same allergen is known in other insects, venoms and immunological cross reactivity may sometimes be observed among closely related species. Here, the immunoblotting assay revealed that the Pp-HYAL-specific antibody used recognized the correspondent protein in the purified fraction and in the crude venom of P. paulista, but not in the Apis mellifera and Solenopsis invicta venoms. Conclusions The methodology used was able to purify the allergen, which is a key step in the characterization of its binding epitopes. Such knowledge has direct implications in accuracy of diagnostic procedures and strategies for specific immunotherapy of allergic patients to the venom of this insect. Funding: Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP).

Project description:Swarm-founding wasps are endemic and common representatives of neotropical fauna and compose an interesting social tribe of vespids, presenting both complex social characteristics and uncommon traits for a eusocial group, such as the absence of castes with distinct morphology. The paper wasp Protonectarina sylveirae (Saussure) presents a broad distribution from Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay, occurring widespread in the Atlantic rainforest and arboreal Caatinga, being absent in the Amazon region. Given the peculiar distribution among swarm-founding wasps, an integrative approach to reconstruct the evolutionary history of P. sylveirae in a spatial-temporal framework was performed to investigate: the presence of genetic structure and its relationship with the geography, the evolution of distinct morphologic lineages and the possible historical event(s) in Neotropical region, which could explain the observed phylogeographic pattern. Individuals of P. sylveirae were obtained from populations of 16 areas throughout its distribution for DNA extraction and amplification of mitochondrial genes 12S, 16S and COI. Analysis of genetic diversity, construction of haplotype net, analysis of population structure and dating analysis of divergence time were performed. A morphometric analysis was also performed using 8 measures of the body of the adult (workers) to test if there are morphological distinction among populations. Thirty-five haplotypes were identified, most of them exclusively of a group and a high population structure was found. The possibility of genetic divergence because of isolation by distance was rejected. Morphological analysis pointed to a great uniformity in phenotypes, with only a small degree of differentiation between populations of south and the remaining. Divergence time analysis showed a Middle/Late Miocene origin, a period where an extensive marine ingression occurred in South America. Divergence of haplogroups began from the Plio/Pleistocene boundary and the last glacial maximum most likely modeled the current distribution of species, even though it was not the cause of genetic breaks.

Dataset Information

Life history and chemical ecology of the Warrior wasp Synoeca septentrionalis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Epiponini).

Publications

Life history and chemical ecology of the Warrior wasp Synoeca septentrionalis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae, Epiponini).

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