Four genes on a genomic fragment from Xenorhabdus nematophilus PMFI296 were shown to be involved in insecticidal activity towards three commercially important insect species. Each gene was expressed individually and in combinations in Escherichia coli, and the insecticidal activity of the lysates was determined. The combined four genes (xptA1, xptA2, xptB1, and xptC1), in E. coli, showed activi...

We present a genome assembly from an individual female Pieris rapae (the small white; Arthropoda; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Pieridae). The sequence is 256 megabases in span. majority of the scaffolded into 26 chromosomal pseudomolecules, with W and Z sex chromosome assembled. Gene annotation this on Ensembl has identified 12,390 protein coding genes.

Larvae of the European cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae (Pieridae), are beset with glandular hairs, bearing droplets of a clear oily secretion at their tip. The fluid consists primarily of a series of chemically labile, unsaturated lipids, the mayolenes, which are derived from 11-hydroxylinolenic acid. In bioassays with the ant Crematogaster lineolata, the secretion was shown to be potently dete...

A tandem Wittig approach has been employed for the synthesis of both (11S,9Z,12Z,15Z)- and (11R,9Z,12Z,15Z)-hydroxyoctadeca-9,12,15-trienoic acid (11-hydroxylinolenic acid, 11-HLA) from (R)-glyceraldehyde acetonide. From (11R)-HLA we have prepared the corresponding palmitic acid and stearic acid esters, mayolene-16 (1) and mayolene-18 (2), insect defensive compounds recently identified from Pie...

This week Arikawa et al. find that in the small white butterfly, the sexes actually see the world differently. The authors compared the male and female eyes of Pieris rapae crucivora that are equipped with three classes of photoreceptors sensitive to short-wavelength light. In both sexes, the authors detected mRNAs for three novel opsins, one per type of photoreceptor. Intracellular recordings ...

The Pachyprotasis melanosoma group is defined as a part of the former P. rapae group, and a key to this species of this group from China is provided. Six new species from China are described in this paper: P. coximaculata Zhong & Wei, sp. n.; P. coxipunctata Zhong & Wei, sp. n.; P. hengshani Zhong & Wei, sp. n.; P. maculoscutellata Zhong & Wei, sp. n.; P. pailongensis Zhong & Wei, sp. n. and P....

The turnip sawfly, Athalia rosae Linnaeus, is a pest on cruciferous crops. Larvae sequester secondary plant compounds, namely glucosinolates, in their haemolymph. When attacked, their integument is easily disrupted and a droplet of haemolymph is exuded ('easy bleeding'). This has been shown to be an effective, chemical-based, defence against invertebrate predators. The efficiency of this propos...