Behavioral Switch of Food Preference upon Sugar Deficiency Is Regulated by GPCRs in Drosophila

Sugar and protein are the major macronutrients＇ sources, and their balanced intake is important for animal＇s health. It has been observed that animals are able to change food preference in an imbalanced nutritional condition to selectively consume nutrients that are deficient in the body （Dethier, 1976）. Early studies in both Drosophila and mouse have demonstrated that animals exhibit food rejection to imbalanced diets lacking essential amino acids （Hao et al., 2005; Bjordal et al., 2014）. Furthermore, the food preference change upon protein depri- vation has been characterized using a two choice assay in Drosophila （Ribeiro and Dickson, 2010; Vargas et al., 2010）. Different from protein food, sugar is the main energy source, and sugar deficiency severely affects animal survival （Lee et al., 2008）. However, whether animals adopt a strategy of fast food preference switch upon sugar deprivation had not been investigated, and the neural mechanisms underlying this behavior regulation remain poorly understood.

Nutritional Status, Food Consumption at Home, and Preference-Selection in the School

To assess the relationship between food consumption at home, nutritional status, gender preference and the preference-selection of natural products (fruits and vegetables) and industrialized (candies and chips) in a situation of free access for a population of Mexican schoolchildren. 115 children participated in the test, 59 boys and 56 girls from second, fourth and sixth grade of elementary school. We have taken measures of weight, size and the 24-hour consumption record during over five days, at which time also we evaluated the preference and selection of a group of ten products (naturals and industrialized). According to the results 60% of children had normal weight, 23.47% overweight, 14.8% risk of overweight an 1.73% underweight. There were no significant differences with X2 test between nutritional status and gender. Multivariate analysis was applied between gender, consumption by food groups and nutritional status, the interaction was significant in all cases. The Pearson correlation between preference and food choice in the situation of open access is high in the school students at risk of overweight. The preferred and selected products for consumption are those with the highest content of saturated fat, sugars and salt, the less preferred and selected products were fruits and vegetables. We could conclude that the population is at risk for their low consumption of fruits and vegetables;situation that is reflection of the home consumption this document.

Euborellia annulipes Mortality and Predation on Diatraea saccharalis Eggs after Application of Chemical and Biological Insecticides

Chemical and biological insecticides have been frequently used in sugarcane fields to control insects-pests, including the sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis. Among the products used, those based on chlorantraniliprole and Metarhizium anisopliae entomopathogenic fungus, stand out. Euborellia annulipes is an insect of the order Dermaptera considered a potential predator of sugarcane borer eggs. This study aimed to evaluate the direct and indirect effects of the bioinsecticide based on M. anisopliae (Metarril®) and the chemical insecticide chlorantraniliprole (Altacor®) on the mortality of E. annulipes nymphs and adults, the predation and feeding preference of earwigs in eggs treated with the formulated products. Predator mortality was evaluated for seven days after treatment, while the effect on predation was analyzed by preference tests with and without choice, using prey eggs. The products tested were selective to the predator, causing ≤ 2% mortality and not affecting predation. The application of M. anisopliae on sugarcane borer eggs favored the food preference of fourth-instar nymphs, males, and females of the predator. Our results show that Metarril® and Altacor® can be used to control D. saccharalis when associated with the predator E. annulipes.

Using dung beetles to evaluate the effects of urbanization on Atlantic Forest biodiversity

We used dung beetles to evaluate the impact of urbanization on insect biodi- versity in three Atlantic Forest fragments in Londrina, Parana, Brazil. This study provides the first empirical evidence of the impact of urbanization on richness, abundance, compo- sition and guild structure of dung beetle communities from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We evaluated the community aspects （abundance, richness, composition and food guilds） of dung beetles in fragments with different degrees of immersion in the urban matrix using pitfall traps with four alternative baits （rotten meat, rotten fish, pig dung and decaying ba- nana）. A total of 1 719 individuals were collected, belonging to 29 species from 11 genera and six Scarabaeinae tribes. The most urban-immersed fragment showed a higher species dominance and the beetle community captured on dung presented the greatest evenness. The beetle communities were distinct with respect to the fragments and feeding habits. Except for the dung beetle assemblage in the most urbanized forest fragment, all others exhibited contrasting differences in species composition attracted to each bait type. Our results clearly show that the degree of urbanization affects Atlantic Forest dung beetle communities and that the preservation of forest fragments inside the cities, even small ones, can provide refuges for Scarabaeinae.