Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Muscid flies'

The persistance of Escherichia coli in the larval, pupal and adult stages of both house flies, Musca domestica (L.), and stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L). was examined. Abundance of E.coli declined over time in immature house flies, but remained constant in immature stable flies, suggesting house fly larvae digest E. coli but stable fly larvae do not. Survival of house fly and stable fly larvae averaged 62% and 25% respectively when reared on pure E. coli cultures. E. coli load in pupae decreased significantly one day before emergence of adult house flies, but remained constant until stable fly emergence. Nevertheless, E. coli was detected in 78% of emerging house flies and in 28% of emerging stable flies. House flies are more important E. coli vectors as adults, whereas stable flies may be overlooked vectors of E. coli during immature development.
ix, 89 leaves ; 28 cm.

Publisher version
We evaluated the bacteria occurring externally on Musca domestica and Chrysomya megacephala, the two most common synanthropic flies which may be found at many refuse sites throughout the world. Bacteria cultured from 10 specimens of each species were isolated, Gram-stained and examined microscopically, and divided into morphologically distinct ‘pseudospecies', to avoid excessive duplication of genetic identification. About 350 bp of the 16S ribosomalRNAgene was amplified from genomicDNAextracted from each ‘pseudospecies', sequenced, and bacteria identified using BLASTn. Nineteen different types of colony were identified from M. domestica, with Pseudomonas sp. and Swine Manure Bacterium SP14 being most abundant. Chrysomya megacephala yielded 15 distinct pseudospecies with total colony counts approximating to 10 000 from 10 plates, where 80 % of colonies were non-pathogenic Bacillus pumilus. A total of 18 species were identified genetically: three shared by the fly species; four unique to C. megacephala, and 13 unique to M. domestica. Half of these 18 species were pathogenic, two or three others were food spoilers and the rest were environmental or commensal bacteria from soil or plant matter. This study added three new pathogenic strains of bacteria and one new environmental strain to the list of bacteria reported to be vectored by these flies.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Cincinnati, 2008.
Advisor: Ronald DeBry (Committee Chair); Theresa Culley (Committee Member); Gregory Dahlem (Committee Member); George Uetz (Committee Member); Anthony Perzigian (Committee Member). Title from electronic thesis title page (viewed Dec. 27, 2009). Keywords: Forensic entomology; sarcophagidae; calliphoridae; nocturnal oviposition. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references.

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Tese (Doutoramento)
IPEN/T
Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

Master of Science
Entomology
Ludek Zurek
House flies (Musca domestica L.) and stable flies (Stomoxys calcitrans L.) are insects of medical and veterinary importance. House flies are recognized as mechanical vectors of human foodborne pathogens and stable files are known for their painful bites resulting in reduction of body weight gain and milk production in cattle. The larval development of both fly species takes place in decaying organic materials (primarily animal manure), resulting in large fly populations in confined cattle environments. Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) are a major foodborne pathogen. Cattle are the asymptomatic reservoir of STEC with bacteria being released to the environment via their feces. STEC O157 is the main serogroup causing human illness. However, infections with non-O157 STEC are increasing: more than 70% of non-O157 infections are caused by six serogroups of non-O157, referred as "Big six" (O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, and O145). In addition, there was a large 2011 outbreak in Europe caused by STEC O104. The objectives of my thesis were: 1) To assess the prevalence of seven serogroups of non-O157 STEC (O26, O45, O103, O104, O111, O121, and O145) (STEC-7) in house flies and stable flies collected from confined cattle environments; 2) To investigate the vector competence of house flies for non-O157 STEC-7. A total of 463 house flies from feedlots and dairies from six states, and 180 stable flies collected from a feedlot in Nebraska were processed for the isolation and identification of STEC-7 using a culture-based approach followed by PCR for the confirmation of serogroups, and virulence genes. A total of 34.3% of house flies and 1.1% of stable flies tested positive for at least one serogroup of E. coli of interest, and 1.5% of house flies harbored STEC with the Shiga-toxin gene (stx1). No STEC were detected in stable flies. Vector competence bioassays for non-O157 STEC revealed that house flies can carry non-O157 STEC for at least six days with the exception STEC O145. Overall, the findings of this research demonstrate that house flies, but not stable flies, likely play an important role in the ecology and transmission of non-O157 STEC in confined cattle environments.

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The study of Calliphoridae and Muscidae biodiversity in the garbage dump of Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, Brazil, was carried out between March, 2006 and March, 2007. To that purpose, six traps made of plastic bottles with 2 L capacity, and containing bovine liver as attractive, were placed around the garbage discarding site. The total of Calliphoridae captured was 44,688. Chrysomya megacephala was the most frequent species (93.61%; n= 41,833) of fly, with significant differences (p<0.05) between C. megacephala and C. albiceps (1.50%; n= 672) and C. putoria (0.79%; n= 352). There was influence of temperature and of rainfall on the C. megacephala population. In the coldest months, the capture of flies, especially C. albiceps e de C. putoria was extremely low. Regarding the Muscidae family, 1307 individuals were captured. Musca domestica was the most frequent species (99.6%; n= 1,302). The other 0.4% (n= 5) corresponded to Ophyra aenescens. The highest number of Muscidae was observed in the summer and in the springer. Thus, it is concluded that the garbage site of Presidente Prudente is an environment that gives conditions to maintenance of Calliphoridae and Muscidae, especially C. megacephala.
Estudou-se a biodiversidade de califorídeos e muscídeos no lixão de Presidente Prudente, São Paulo, Brasil, no período de março de 2006 a março de 2007. Para esse propósito, seis armadilhas com garrafas tipo pet de 2 litros, contendo como atrativo fígado bovino, foram alocadas ao redor do lixão. Foram capturadas 44.688 califorídeos, com maior freqüência das espécies Chrysomya megacephala (93,61%; n= 41.833), seguindo-se de C. albiceps (1,5%; n= 672) e C. putoria (0,79%; n= 352), com diferença significativa entre a primeira e as demais espécies (p<0,05). Houve influência da temperatura e da precipitação pluviométrica na sazonalidade de C. megacephala, com maiores capturas nos meses quentes e chuvosos (p<0,05). Nos meses frios, a captura das moscas, especialmente de C. albiceps e de C. putoria foi praticamente ausente. No caso dos muscídeos, capturou-se 1.307 espécimes, sendo que a espécie Musca domestica representou 99,6% (n= 1.302) e a espécie Ophyra aenescens 0,4% (n= 5), havendo maior incidência no verão, seguido da primavera, outono e inverno. Dessa forma, conclui-se que o depósito de lixo urbano de Presidente Prudente oferece condições para a manutenção de moscas varejeiras, especialmente C. megacephala, e de mosca doméstica.

abstract: THE PEACOCK FLIES SOUTHEAST is a work for Qudi and orchestra inspired by an ancient Chinese love story of the same title. The Qudi is also known as the "Chinese bamboo flute." It is similar to the Western piccolo. However, it has open tone holes with greater ability to bend pitches. The Qudi sounds one octave above the written music with arrange from A4 to G7.
Dissertation/Thesis
M.M. Music 2014

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
Forensic entomology is a subdiscipline of entomology that involves the use of insect behavior and developmental data to aid in criminal investigations. Genetic data has become increasingly important to the field as there has been a push for DNA-based species identification methods of forensically relevant insects. Genetic data can also elucidate population structure and relatedness of these insects, and such knowledge can contribute to the development of more specific datasets for insects in different regions. The first study presented here investigated the phylogenetics of sister species Lucilia cuprina and Lucilia sericata to identify possible subspecies divisions and issues with DNA-based identifications in the United States. The initial aim of this study was to identify genetic differences between specimens of L. cuprina that preferred live versus carrion flesh. Flies collected from Indiana, USA and South Africa were sequenced and analyzed. Upon sequencing of the genes COI, Period, and 28s, our results indicated that L. cuprina from Indiana possess a unique combination of nuclear and mitochondrial haplotypes that suggest a unique lineage, possibly indicating modern hybridization with L. sericata. The inability of both nuclear and mitochondrial genes to distinguish between L. cuprina and L. sericata raises questions about the capabilities of DNA-based species identifications within this genus. Additionally, the inability of these genes to distinguish between specimens that preferred live versus carrion flesh highlights a need for continued research of these behavioral differences. The second study presented here investigated the population structure and relatedness of house flies in the American southwest in relation to a civil lawsuit where neighbors of a poultry farm alleged that flies were emanating from the farm to their homes. Musca domestica (house fly) specimens were collected from the chicken farm and from locations in varying directions and distances from the farm. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was performed and the data were used in a number of analyses. Population reallocation simulations generally indicated that samples from different locations were not genetically different enough from other locations to allocate to their true origin population over others. Kinship analysis showed differences in samples collected in a later season that indicate a genetic bottleneck over time. Population structure analysis indicated the presence of two intermixing genetic populations in the dataset. AMOVA revealed that the majority of genetic variation laid within, rather than among, populations. A Mantel test revealed no significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances. These results indicate that the M. domestica population in this region of southwestern America is large and intermixing, with no clear genetic distinctions between specimens collected at the poultry farm versus the surrounding locations. In regard to the civil lawsuit, it was not possible to conclude that the flies did not emanate from the poultry farm. In a broader perspective, these data can be utilized to develop pest management strategies in this region. Overall, the data from both studies presented here will be useful to forensic investigations, development of more specific and detailed data and identification techniques, and pest control measures.

Seasonal abundance of the stable flies, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) was studied at Glenlea, Manitoba for two years (from June to mid-September, 1988 and 1989). Alsynite (TM) fibre glass sticky traps were used in which Tanglefoot (TM) was used as an adhesive. The efficiency of the Williams sticky trap system used was determined to be 36.2%. Two study sites were established, one at the animal confinement facility and the other at the pasture. Traps were operated for nine hours per day once a week at each site. Trapped flies were removed from traps after a predetermined time interval of one or more hours. Trapped flies were counted, sexed and a subsample of 15-30 females was dissected to determine the parity status. A sweep net sample was also obtained on each sampling occasion and processed like the trap catches. The abundance of the stable flies was 7.5-fold larger at the animal confinement site than at the pasture in 1988 and about 2.1-fold larger at the animal confinement site than pasture in 1989. Peak abundance occurred from 16 June to 30 August at the animal confinement site when >50 flies per trap in nine hours of trapping were collected in 1988. The maximum number of flies collected from the animal confinement site was more than 1200 flies/trap on 28 June, 1988. Pasture stable fly peak abundance occurred from 17 June to 26 August when >15 flies per trap were collected in nine hours. The highest number of flies at the pasture was 160 flies/trap which was collected on 26 July, 1988. Diurnal activity of the stable flies yielded a peak abundance between 0700-1100 hrs when more than 60% of the daily catch was collected at the animal confinement site and 55-70% of the daily total at the pasture. In June and July, 1989 hourly temperatures were recorded during trapping and it was found that stable fly diurnal activity was influenced largely by temperature, rather than time of day. Maximum daily activity, as shown by mean bi-hourly trap catch, occurred at temperatures between 20oC and 31oC and very little flight activity took place outside this range...

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) is a haematophagous fly that feeds primarily on the forelegs of cattle stimulating a range of avoidance behaviours in confinement situations such as feedlots. From literature it is apparent that stable flies associated with feedlots have a significant impact on cattle especially with regard to economic parameters such as a decline in feed intake and thus a lower average daily gain resulting in less meat production due to irritation caused by painful bites. The abundance of the stable flies was studied in a large commercial feedlot near Heidelberg from October 2012 to September 2013. Two tsetse fly traps, namely the NZI and the Vavoua fly traps, were used and evaluated in determining the seasonal abundance of the stable flies. The tsetse traps proved to be most effective for sampling stable flies compared to other designs. The NZI and Vavoua tsetse type trap were compared and although there were no significant difference the NZI trap proved to be more reliable and user friendly for this study. Stable flies were more abundant from late December with a peak in numbers late in January through February and became less abundant from early March. Minimum to no fly abundance occurred in the winter months from May to June 2013. The data indicated a strong edge effect for the stable flies, the flies were more abundant in pens and corridors that were surrounded by vegetation, manure run off and holding ponds. The numbers collected in traps were correlated with stable fly counts on the cattle to be used in calculating a future threshold in chemical control. Preliminary observations on the influence of temperature, wind speed and rainfall were also made. This research will form part of a larger project to determine an integrated fly management program for the feedlot.
MSc (Environmental Sciences), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Myofibrillogenesis is a complex process involving assembly of many structural proteins in an orchestrated spatio-temporal manner to form a highly ordered contractile sarcomeric unit. Mutations in the proteins involved in muscle contraction and function lead to myopathic conditions in human. Hence, understanding the etiology of these diseases and genes involved may help in accurate diagnosis, prognosis and exploration of possible therapeutics. Molecular players and signaling pathways of myogenesis are highly conserved across phyla, enabling us to exploit indirect flight muscles (IFM) of Drosophila melanogaster as a model to study muscle development and function. IFM is the only fibrillar muscle which has considerable functional similarity to vertebrate cardiac muscles. It also enables the analyses of all stages of muscle development from its earliest stages of fusion of the imaginal myoblasts to fully differentiated muscle with its assembled contractile apparatus. Perturbance of developmental process in IFM leads to flightless flies with dysfunctional muscle. High throughput mutant screens, designed to isolate flightless flies have led to the identification of large number of genetic loci which are involved in muscle patterning and myofibrillogenesis, thus giving useful insights into the structural and functional aspects of fibre formation. One such classical mutant, flightless H (fliH), isolated during mutagenesis screen leads to IFM degeneration after fibres are formed normally. This interesting phenomenon is designated as muscle hypercontraction and is comparable to hypertrophic cardiomyopathies in humans. The muscle hypercontraction phenotype in this mutant was found to be temperature dependent and development of the process initiated at later stages of pupation. Cellular events associated with the IFM hypercontraction were followed up through development using this mutant. Further, interaction of fliH allele with other genetic backgrounds gave valuable insights on mechanisms of causation of muscle hypercontraction. Genetics played a pivotal role in identifying the mutant locus. The mutation was genetically mapped to the regulatory region of the wupA gene which was confirmed by sequencing data. The wupA gene codes for Troponin I (TnI), an inhibitory component of the troponin-tropomyosin complex of thin filaments. The mutation leads to reduced level of TnI transcript and hence reduced amount of protein, as a consequence, troponin complex formation is impeded leading to uninhibited acto-myosin interactions, thus causing muscle fibre breakdown. Our study reveals that fliH is a unique allele which confers temperature sensitive muscle phenotype. This is the first mutation found in the regulatory region of any structural gene which is temperature dependant and leads to muscle hypercontraction. This study also emphasizes that stoichiometry of structural proteins is important for proper functioning of muscle. Apart from mutations in sarcomeric genes, perturbations in calcium signaling also affect muscle functioning and lead to development of cardiac hypertrophy and failure. Hence, the role of calcineurin β-subunit (canB2), a calcium dependant protein phosphatase, in muscle was analyzed. Studies involving overexpression of canB2 in IFM showed that it leads to muscle hypercontraction. In addition, characterization of one of the new allele generated for the present study confirmed presence of muscle tearing and sarcomeric structure abnormality. canB2 alleles genetically interact with other hypercontracting alleles and enhance the hypercontraction phenotype. Overall, present study will help us to understand how genetic predisposition can enhance or suppress muscle hypercontraction. In a reverse genetics approach, role of muscle LIM protein, Beadex (Bx) in IFM was analyzed, as point mutations and loss of function alleles of LIM genes are associated with cardiomyopathies in humans. Immuno-histochemistry showed that Bx is expressed in myoblasts associated with wing imaginal disc which gives rise to IFM. Expression is also seen in developing IFM and in the neurons innervating the IFM. However, unlike the other known LIM proteins in Drosophila, Bx was not adhered to muscle fibre and showed predominant cytosolic localization. Targeted knockout and over-expression in muscles showed fibre rupturing and Z-disc deformities. Our results suggest that Bx may be involved in mechano-sensory stress signaling pathway like the other LIM proteins in humans and proper maintenance of the sarcomeric structure. Thus, present study elucidates the role of three loci namely: wupA, canB2 and Bx in proper muscle development and function. All the three loci code for proteins having orthologues in higher vertebrates and have been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathies and/or skeletal myopathies in humans. Overall, such studies involving analyses of genes implicated in muscle development and function will help in exploring disease pathways which may help in derivation of new therapeutic strategies.