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Showing papers by "Gustavo Ferreira Martins published in 2020"


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is suggested that pesticide exposure during larvae development may affect the survival and health of immature honey bees, thus contributing to overall colony stress or loss, and altered gene expression of detoxification enzymes.

70 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
30 Apr 2020-MethodsX
TL;DR: Protocols to standardize methods that allow for the exploration of lethal and sublethal effects of agrochemicals via acute and chronic exposure of stingless bees are described and proved that these standardized protocols are reliable for toxicological research on stingless bee.

28 citations


Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: RNAi-induced knockdown of transcript AeSigP-66,427, coding for a Na+/Ca2+ protein exchanger, specifically interfered with egg production and reduced sperm motility, which brought new insights into the molecular basis of sperm storage and identify potential targets for Ae.
Abstract: Successful mating of female mosquitoes typically occurs once, with the male sperm being stored in the female spermatheca for every subsequent oviposition event. The female spermatheca is responsible for the maintenance, nourishment, and protection of the male sperm against damage during storage. Aedes aegypti is a major vector of arboviruses, including Yellow Fever, Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika. Vector control is difficult due to this mosquito high reproductive capacity. Following comparative RNA-seq analyses of spermathecae obtained from virgin and inseminated females, eight transcripts were selected based on their putative roles in sperm maintenance and survival, including energy metabolism, chitin components, transcriptional regulation, hormonal signaling, enzymatic activity, antimicrobial activity, and ionic homeostasis. In situ RNA hybridization confirmed tissue-specific expression of the eight transcripts. Following RNA interference (RNAi), observed outcomes varied between targeted transcripts, affecting mosquito survival, egg morphology, fecundity, and sperm motility within the spermathecae. This study identified spermatheca-specific transcripts associated with sperm storage in Ae. aegypti. Using RNAi we characterized the role of eight spermathecal transcripts on various aspects of female fecundity and offspring survival. RNAi-induced knockdown of transcript AeSigP-66,427, coding for a Na+/Ca2+ protein exchanger, specifically interfered with egg production and reduced sperm motility. Our results bring new insights into the molecular basis of sperm storage and identify potential targets for Ae. aegypti control.

15 citations



Posted ContentDOI
24 Jul 2020-bioRxiv
TL;DR: The Ethoflow software was developed using computer vision and artificial intelligence tools to automatically monitor various behavioral parameters, and the models trained with these datasets exhibited high accuracy in detecting individuals in heterogeneous environments and assessing complex behavior.
Abstract: Manual monitoring of animal behavior is time-consuming and prone to bias. An alternative to such limitations is the use of computational resources in behavioral assessments, such as a tracking system, to facilitate accurate and long-term evaluations. There is a demand for robust software that addresses analysis in heterogeneous environments (such as in field conditions) and evaluates multiple individuals in groups while maintaining their identities. The Ethoflow software was developed using computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to automatically monitor various behavioral parameters. A state-of-the-art object detection algorithm based on instance segmentation was implemented, allowing behavior monitoring in the field under heterogeneous environments. Moreover, a convolutional neural network was implemented to assess complex behaviors, thus expanding the possibilities of animal behavior analyses. The heuristics used to automatically generate training data for the AI models are described, and the models trained with these datasets exhibited high accuracy in detecting individuals in heterogeneous environments and assessing complex behavior. Ethoflow was employed for kinematic assessments and to detect trophallaxis in social bees. The software runs on the Linux, Microsoft Windows, and IOS operating systems with an intuitive graphical interface. In the Ethoflow algorithm, the processing with AI is separate from the other modules, which facilitates kinematic measurements on an ordinary computer and the assessment of complex behavior on machines with graphics processing units (GPUs). Thus, Ethoflow is a useful support tool for applications in biology and related fields.

7 citations