Yang Maofa

Scanning Electron Microscopy of Antennae of Aphidoletes aphidimyza (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

The morphology of antennae of Aphidoletes aphidimyza was observed with a scanning electron microscope. The results showed that both male and female were fourteen segmented, the male was approximately 2000μ m and the female was 1050 μm. Six types of sensillae on the antenna were observed, viz. chaetica (Ch), trichoidea (Tr), basiconica (Ba), cavity (Ca), styloid (St) and circumfila (Ci) on the antennae of A. aphidimyza. Sensillae Ch had a long external-process, with a base surrounded by membranous sockets and a length of about 67.5 μm. Sensillae Tr were distally curved and inserted into a depression, 61.0 μm long. Sensillae Ba were peg-like and 4.7 μm long on the antennae. Sensillae Ca were pit-like in appearance and the diameter of the pit was 1.2 μm. Sensilla St was found on the second sub-segment flagellum of the male antennae. The length of the sensilla was about 21 μm and the diameter was 1.5 μm. The circumfila, which are a unique type of sensilla found only on cecidomyiid antennae, formed loops around each of the antennal sub-segments, and were attached to the surface by a series of stalks. Sensilla St was only present on male antenna. The number of Ba and Tr was almost the same in both sexes. There were more Sensilla Ca on the male antenna than on the female, while there was more Ch on the female.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the leafhopper Idioscopus clypealis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Idiocerinae)

Abstract We have sequenced the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the leafhopper Idioscopus clypealis in Idiocerinae, the mitochondrial genome sequences to be 15,393 bp with an A + T content of 78.3%. The mitogenome includes 13 protein-coding genes, two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and one non-coding [A + T]-rich region. These genes are in the same order as in the Idioscopus nitidulus. All protein-coding genes have ATN as the start codon, TAA and single T as the stop codon. The phylogenetic tree confirms that I. clypealis and I. nitidulus are clustered into a clade, and provides the relationships between the Megophthalminae, Deltocephalinae, Idiocerinae, Cicadellinae, and Typhloeybinae.

FATTY ACID COMPOSITION OF CICADA SLOUGH

Cicada slough is the shell of insect Cryptotympana pustulata Fabricius, the family of Cicadidae. It is often used in folk medicine to disperse pathogenic wind-heat from the lung channel, dispel wind to promote eruption, treat sore throat and hoarseness, clear heat from the liver, dispel pathogenic wind to relieve spasm, and to treat infantile convulsion and several other diseases 1–4 . This drug is produced throughout China but mainly in Shandong, Hebei, Henan, and Jiangsu Province. However, there has been a relative scarcity of papers on the chemical composition of Cicada slough. Recent investigations have shown that there are 24 kinds of trace elements 5 , a lot of amino acids, protein, chitin, and three acetyl-dopaamine dimers in the Cicada slough 6 . Fatty acids exhibit anti-inflammatory activity and affect the biosynthesis of prostaglandins, which play an important role in diseases that damage the skeletal-muscular system. Typically, fatty acids are analyzed after being converted into the methyl esters prior to analysis by GC or GC/MS 7 . The advantage of the derivatization is that the esters afford sharp peaks and better resolution. However, there are some drawbacks such as incomplete esterification, the possible generation of artifacts due to side reactions, and contamination of the sample with impurities in the reagent. The most crucial limitation of derivatization is that it prevents the study of naturally occurring fatty acid methyl esters (FAMEs) 8 . Occasionally, free fatty acids have also been analyzed successfully 9 . In order to expand the raw material base of folk medicine, in this study we analyzed the composition and relative content of fatty-acids in Cicada slough without previous derivatization. Cicada slough was bought from Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine Corporation. Samples were dried at 50 C to constant weight and ground to a fine powder. Total lipids from finely ground Cicada slough were extracted three times using four different solvents (absolute n-hexane, absolute methylene chloride, absolute petroleum ether, and absolute ethyl acetate) with the assistance of ultrasound at room temperature. The combined extracts were then dried over anhydrous Na2SO4, filtered, and concentrated to dryness under reduced pressure to 1 mL by rotary evaporation at 40 C. The lipophilic extracts were directly analyzed by GC-MS. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was performed on an Agilent 7890 GC instrument equipped with a 5975 C mass elective detector and an Agilent DB-FFAP capillary column (30 m 0.25 mm, film thickness 0.25 m). The column temperature was programmed from 80 to 250 C at a rate of 20 C/min and held at 100 C for 2 min, from 100 to180 C at a rate of 15 C min–1 and held at 180 C for 2 min, then from 180 to 250 C at 6 C min–1 with the final temperature held for 20 min. The inlet and interface temperatures were 230 C and 220 C, respectively. The sample (0.1 L) was injected with a split of 10:1. Electron impact mass spectrometry was carried out at 70 eV. Ion source and quadrupole temperatures were maintained at 230 C and 150 C, respectively, mass range m/z 50–550 Da. The components of fatty acid were identified by direct comparison of their mass spectral pattern and retention time with those published in the literature and by matching their recorded mass spectra with the corresponding data (NIST08Library). The percentage composition of fatty acids was computed by the normalization method from the GC peak areas, assuming identical mass response factor for all compounds. All samples were analyzed in duplicate.