We investigated whether exposure to UV-B results in biochemical changes in leaf litter, affecting growth rates of earthworms feeding on this litter and cast chemistry. Seedlings of Betula pubescens L. were grown under zero and ambient UVB (at 52 °N) regimes under optimal conditions. Following three months exposure, plants were allowed to senesce and leaf litter was collected. Lumbricus terrestr...

Earthworms are useful bioindicator organisms for soil biomonitoring. Recently the use of pollution biomarkers in earthworms has been increasingly investigated for soil monitoring and assessment. Earthworm coelomic fluid is particularly interesting from a toxicological perspective, because it is responsible for pollutant disposition and tissue distribution to the whole organism. The aim of the p...

Although neonicotinoids are targeted at insects, their predominant use as a seed dressing and their long persistence in soils mean that non-target soil organisms such as earthworms are likely to be chronically exposed to them. Chronic exposure may pose risks that are not evaluated in most toxicity tests. We experimentally tested the effect of field-realistic concentrations of a commonly used ne...

Bumblebee venom allergies, though uncommon among the broad public, pose a significant risk in plant industry and scientific occupation. Since a significant IgE cross-reactivity between bumblebee and honeybee venom has been described in several cases and bumblebee venom for immunotherapy has been available only from a few suppliers, SIT with honeybee venom was frequently used for bumblebee venom...

A MiSeq multiplexed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing of the gut microbiota of wild and indoor-reared Bombus terrestris (bumblebees) confirmed the presence of a core set of bacteria, which consisted of Neisseriaceae (Snodgrassella), Orbaceae (Gilliamella), Lactobacillaceae (Lactobacillus), and Bifidobacteriaceae (Bifidobacterium). In wild B. terrestris we detected several non-core bacteria having a ...

Purified phosphofructokinase from the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris was phosphorylated in vitro by the catalytic subunit of cAMP-dependent protein kinase from the same organism to an extent of approx. 0.5 mol/mol of subunit. Activation of the enzyme occurred in parallel to the incorporation of covalently bound phosphate and was reversed by the action of the catalytic subunit of protein phospha...

Tribulus terrestris L. (Family: Zygophyllaceae) has been used extensively for various human ailments by different traditional systems of medicine including Ayurveda. Recently, the anti-proliferative effect of this plant against breast cancer cells was reported. In the present study, the cytotoxic and antitumour effects of the methanolic extract of T. terrestris fruits were analysed. On in vitro...

Multiple trade-offs likely occur between pesticide use, pollinators and yield (via crop flowers) in pollinator-dependent, mass-flowering crops (MFCs), causing potential conflict conservation agronomic goals. To date, no studies have looked at both outcomes within the same system, meaning win-win solutions for can only be inferred. Here, we outline a new framework to explore these trade-offs, us...