This laboratory-based study examined the effects of low-temperature phosphine fumigation on the survival of the eggs and larvae of the guava fruit fly, Bactrocera correcta (Bezzi). Individual flies at different developmental stages, from 6-h-old eggs to third instars, were exposed to 0.92 mg/liter phosphine for 1-7 d at 5°C. We found that 12-h-old eggs and third instars were the most tolerant to phosphine. Increasing phosphine concentrations from 0.46 to 4.56 mg/liter increased mortality in these two stages. However, increased exposure times were required to achieve equal mortality rates in 12-h-old eggs and third instars when phosphine concentrations were ≥4.56 and ≥3.65 mg/liter, respectively. C(n)t = k expression was obtained at 50, 90, and 99% mortality levels, and the toxicity index (n) ranged from 0.43 to 0.77 for the two stages. The synergistic effects of a controlled atmosphere (CA) with elevated CO(2) levels were also investigated, and we found that a CO(2) concentration between 10% and 15% under CA conditions was optimal for low-temperature phosphine fumigation.
Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) are critical for the development and generation of functionally competent T cells. Until now, the mechanism that regulates the survival of TECs is poorly understood. In the current study, we found that Tsc1 controls the homeostasis of medullary TECs (mTECs) by inhibiting lysosomal-mediated apoptosis pathway in mice. TEC-specific deletion of Tsc1 predominately decreased the cell number of mTECs and, to a lesser content, affected the development cortical TECs. The defect of mTECs caused by Tsc1 deficiency in mice impaired thymocyte development and peripheral T cell homeostasis. Mechanistically, Tsc1 deficiency did not affect the cell proliferation of mTECs but increased the apoptosis of mTECs significantly. RNA-sequencing analysis showed that pathways involved in lysosomal biogenesis, cell metabolism, and apoptosis were remarkably elevated in Tsc1-deficient mTECs compared with their wild-type counterparts. Tsc1-deficient mTECs exhibited overproduction of reactive oxygen species and malfunction of lysosome, with lysosome membrane permeabilization and the release of cathepsin B and cathepsin L to the cytosol, which then lead to Bid cleaved into active truncated Bid and subsequently intrinsic apoptosis. Finally, we showed that the impaired development of mTECs could be partially reversed by decreasing mTORC1 activity via haploinsufficiency of Raptor. Thus, Tsc1 is essential for the homeostasis of mTECs by inhibiting lysosomal-mediated apoptosis through mTORC1-dependent pathways.
The fruit fly Bactrocera tau (Walker) is an important quarantine pest that damages fruits and vegetables throughout Asian regions. Host commodities shipped from infested areas should undergo phytosanitary measures to reduce the risk of shipping viable flies. The dose-response tests with 1-d-old eggs and 3-, 5-, 7-, 8-d-old larvae were initiated to determine the most resistant stages in fruits, and the minimum dose for 99.9968% prevention of adult eclosion at 95% confidence level was validated in the confirmatory tests. The results showed that 1) the pupariation rate was not affected by gamma radiation except for eggs and first instars, while the percent of eclosion was reduced significantly in all instars at all radiation dose; 2) the tolerance to radiation increased with increasing age and developmental stage; 3) the estimated dose to 99.9968% preventing adult eclosion from late third instars was 70.9 Gy (95% CL: 65.6-78.2, probit model) and 71.8 Gy (95% CL: 63.0-87.3, logit model); and iv) in total, 107,135 late third instars cage infested in pumpkin fruits were irradiated at the target dose of 70 Gy (62.5-85.0, Gy measured), which resulted in no adult emergence in the two confirmatory tests. Therefore, a minimum dose of 85 and 72 Gy, which could prevent adult emergence at the efficacy of 99.9972 and 99.9938% at the 95% confidence level, respectively, can be recommended as a minimum dose for phytosanitary treatment of B. tau in any host fruits and vegetables under ambient atmospheres.
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