The Insects has been the standard textbook in the field since the first edition published over forty years ago. Building on the strengths of Chapman's original text, this long-awaited 5th edition has been revised and expanded by a team of eminent insect physiologists, bringing it fully up-to-date for the molecular era. The chapters retain the successful structure of the earlier editions, focusing on particular functional systems rather than taxonomic groups and making it easy for students to delve into topics without extensive knowledge of taxonomy. The focus is on form and function, bringing together basic anatomy and physiology and examining how these relate to behaviour. This, combined with nearly 600 clear illustrations, provides a comprehensive understanding of how insects work. Now also featuring a richly illustrated prologue by George McGavin, this is an essential text for students, researchers and applied entomologists alike.

The insects: structure and function.

The Immuno Polymorphism Database (IPD) was developed to provide a centralized system for the study of polymorphism in genes of the immune system. Through the IPD project we have established a central platform for the curation and publication of locus-specific databases involved either directly or related to the function of the Major Histocompatibility Complex in a number of different species. We have collaborated with specialist groups or nomenclature committees that curate the individual sections before they are submitted to IPD for online publication. IPD consists of five core databases, with the IMGT/HLA Database as the primary database. Through the work of the various nomenclature committees, the HLA Informatics Group and in collaboration with the European Bioinformatics Institute we are able to provide public access to this data through the website http://www.ebi.ac.uk/ipd/. The IPD project continues to develop with new tools being added to address scientific developments, such as Next Generation Sequencing, and to address user feedback and requests. Regular updates to the website ensure that new and confirmatory sequences are dispersed to the immunogenetics community, and the wider research and clinical communities.

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The IPD and IMGT/HLA database: allele variant databases

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/171/3973/757.full.pdf

Allelochemics: Chemical Interactions between Species

Influenza A virus reservoirs in animals have provided novel genetic elements leading to the emergence of global pandemics in humans. Most influenza A viruses circulate in waterfowl, but those that infect mammalian hosts are thought to pose the greatest risk for zoonotic spread to humans and the generation of pandemic or panzootic viruses. We have identified an influenza A virus from little yellow-shouldered bats captured at two locations in Guatemala. It is significantly divergent from known influenza A viruses. The HA of the bat virus was estimated to have diverged at roughly the same time as the known subtypes of HA and was designated as H17. The neuraminidase (NA) gene is highly divergent from all known influenza NAs, and the internal genes from the bat virus diverged from those of known influenza A viruses before the estimated divergence of the known influenza A internal gene lineages. Attempts to propagate this virus in cell cultures and chicken embryos were unsuccessful, suggesting distinct requirements compared with known influenza viruses. Despite its divergence from known influenza A viruses, the bat virus is compatible for genetic exchange with human influenza viruses in human cells, suggesting the potential capability for reassortment and contributions to new pandemic or panzootic influenza A viruses.

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/109/11/4269.full.pdf

A distinct lineage of influenza A virus from bats

The IMGT/HLA database (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/imgt/hla) has provided a centralized repository for the sequences of the alleles named by the WHO Nomenclature Committee for Factors of the HLA System for the past four years. Since its initial release the database has grown and is the primary source of information for the study of sequences of the human major histocompatibilty complex. The initial release of the database contained a limited number of tools. As a result of feedback from our users and developments in HLA we have been able to provide new tools and facilities. The HLA sequences have also been extended to include intron sequences and the 3' and 5' untranslated regions in the alignments and also the inclusion of new genes such as MICA. The IMGT/MHC database (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/imgt/mhc) was released in March 2002 to provide a similar resource for other species. The first release of IMGT/MHC contains the sequences of non-human primates (apes, new and old world monkeys), canines and feline sequences. Further species will be added shortly and the database aims to become the primary source of MHC data for non-human sequences.

IMGT/HLA and IMGT/MHC: sequence databases for the study of the major histocompatibility complex

The production of spermatozoa in the male insect and the transfer of the seminal mass to the female require significant investments of biochemical resources and the temporal coordination of development in several organs. Maturation of the gonads and the secondary reproductive systems must be synchronized with the metamorphic acquisition of energetic, sensory, motor, and central nervous adaptations for mating. The developmental hormones that commit cells to new programs and that trigger and modulate their expression in molting cycles also affect the primary and secondary reproductive systems. Many studies have addressed the endocrine regulation of female reproductive maturation and physiology. In comparison, investigations of the male insect systems have lagged. But in the past few years, more laboratories have focused their activities on analyses of male reproduction and its control (9, 57, 58). A recent chapter in this series reviewed the male accessory gland systems (9). This review discusses some of the recent studies that enlarge our knowl­ edge of the special physiology of the male. Selected examples summarize investigations that show that the major hormones that control growth and metamorphosis of the epidermis also control the growth, differentiation, and physiological modulation of the male reproductive system. In addition, male

Maturation of the Male Reproductive System and its Endocrine Regulation

Special refinements of the bleeding mechanism of the Mexican bean beetle, Epilachna varivestis Mulsant, are described, and the defensive effectiveness of the mechanism against ants is demonstrated. Ants may have provided a major selective force in the evolution of the mechanism.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/134/3475/329.full.pdf

Hemorrhage in a Coccinellid Beetle and Its Repellent Effect on Ants

Quinone and hydrocarbon production in the defensive glands of Eleodes longicollis and Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae)

Dogs exhibit a range of immune-mediated conditions including a lymphocytic thyroiditis which has many similarities to Hashimoto's thyroiditis in man. We have recently reported an association in Doberman Pinschers between canine hypothyroidism and a rare DLA class II haplotype that contains the DLA-DQA1*00101 allele. We now report a further series of 173 hypothyroid dogs in a range of breeds where a significant association with DLA-DQA1*00101 is shown.

https://www.vin.com/proceedings1/downloads/tuftsbg2009/a4%20kennedy%20hypoth.pdf

Association of canine hypothyroidism with a common major histocompatibility complex DLA class II allele.

The aim of this component was to establish the range of DLA diversity in as many dog breeds as possible. In particular, we wanted to collect breeds that had not previously been studied. Data were submitted of 937 dogs of over 80 different breeds, and these included 17 'new' breeds. Twenty-eight new alleles were identified including 21 DLA-DRB1, 2 DLA-DQA1 and 5 DLA-DQB1 alleles. These occurred in many new haplotype combinations. One haplotype was identified that appeared to lack DQB1. Two other haplotypes carry two DQB1 genes. It was clear that each dog breed has a restricted range of DLA alleles and haplotypes, and no breed had all 88 haplotypes identified in this study.

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George M. Happ

Papers

Maturation of the Male Reproductive System and its Endocrine Regulation

Hemorrhage in a Coccinellid Beetle and Its Repellent Effect on Ants

Quinone and hydrocarbon production in the defensive glands of Eleodes longicollis and Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae)

Association of canine hypothyroidism with a common major histocompatibility complex DLA class II allele.

Canine DLA diversity: 1. New alleles and haplotypes.