http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Once introduced for biological pest control, Asian lady beetle Harmonia axyridis populations have been increasing uncontrollably in the US and Europe since the turn of the millennium. The species has been proliferating rapidly in Germany; conservationists fear that the Asian lady beetle will out-compete native beetle species. http://phys.org/news287931061.html Biology Thu, 16 May 2013 14:00:19 EST news287931061 Highly developed antennae containing different types of olfactory receptors allow insects to use minute amounts of odors for orientation towards resources like food, oviposition sites or mates. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have now used mutant flies and for the first time provided experimental proof that the extremely sensitive olfactory system of fruit flies − they are able to detect a few thousand odor molecules per milliliter of air, whereas humans need hundreds of millions − is based on self-regulation of odorant receptors. http://phys.org/news282824589.html Biology Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:23:18 EST news282824589 Max Planck scientists in Jena, Germany, have discovered an unusual regulation of enzymes that catalyze chain elongation in an important secondary metabolism, the terpenoid pathway. In the horseradish leaf beetle Phaedon cochleariae a single enzyme can trigger the production of two completely different substances depending on whether it is regulated by cobalt, manganese or magnesium ions: iridoids, which are defensive substances the larvae use to repel predators, or juvenile hormones, which control insect's development. Insects unlike plants do not have a large arsenal of the proteins called isoprenyl diphosphate synthases. Therefore they may have developed another efficient option to channel metabolites into the different directions of terpenoid metabolism by using metal ions for control. http://phys.org/news281273540.html Chemistry Thu, 28 Feb 2013 11:33:25 EST news281273540 In the fall of 2010, Hoi-Ying Holman of the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) was approached by an international team researching a mysterious microbial community discovered deep in cold sulfur springs in southern Germany. http://phys.org/news278064316.html Biology Tue, 22 Jan 2013 10:00:02 EST news278064316 Aggregations of the red and black colored firebugs are ubiquitous under linden trees in Central Europe, where the bugs can reach astounding population densities. While these insects have no impact on humans, their African, Asian, and American relatives, the cotton stainers, are serious agricultural pests of cotton and other Malvaceous plants. http://phys.org/news276949831.html Biology Wed, 09 Jan 2013 10:30:40 EST news276949831 After metamorphosis European forest cockchafers benefit from the same bacterial symbionts housed during their larval stage. http://phys.org/news275140505.html Biology Wed, 19 Dec 2012 11:55:34 EST news275140505 Consuming putrid food can be lethal as it allows bacterial pathogens to enter the digestive system. To detect signs of decay and thus allowing us and other animals to avoid such food poisoning is one of the main tasks of the sense of smell. Behavioral scientists and neurobiologists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have now for the first time decoded the neural mechanisms underlying an escape reflex in fruit flies (Drosophila) activated in order to avoid eating and laying eggs in food infected by toxic microorganisms. A super-sensitive and completely dedicated neural line, from olfactory receptor, via sensory neuron and primary brain neurons, is activated as soon as the tiniest amount of geosmin is in the air. Geosmin is a substance released by bacteria and mold fungi toxic to the fly. This stimulus overrides all other food odor signals, irrespective of how attractive they are on their own. Consequently, geosmin is a full STOP signal that prevents flies from eating and laying eggs in toxic food, similar to when we open the fridge and smell last week's forgotten dinner. http://phys.org/news274016754.html Biology Thu, 06 Dec 2012 12:00:16 EST news274016754 (Phys.org)—Unlike flowering plants, bracken ferns do not release any odour signals to attract the enemies of their attackers for their own benefit. http://phys.org/news272706849.html Biology Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:54:33 EST news272706849 (Phys.org)—Researchers from Jena and Greifswald used GPS satellites for a long-term behavioural monitoring of land crab migration on Christmas Island. In cooperation with colleagues from the Zoological Institute at the University of Greifswald, scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, used a GPS-based telemetric system to analyze movements of freely roaming robber crabs, which is the first large-scale study of any arthropod using GPS technology to monitor behaviour. http://phys.org/news272184674.html Biology Thu, 15 Nov 2012 07:20:08 EST news272184674 To solve the acute, global problem of securing food resources for a continuously growing population, we must work constantly to increase the sustainability and effectiveness of modern agricultural techniques. These efforts depend on new insights from plant ecology, particularly from work on native plants that grow in the primordial agricultural niche. Based on field studies on wild tobacco plants in the Great Basin Desert, Utah, USA, researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, demonstrated that the release of volatiles which attract enemies of herbivores not only controls insect pests, but also increases the reproduction of infested plants. Transferred to the goals of integrated pest management, this means that these natural plant defences can be utilized to improve and increase agricultural yields in an environmentally friendly manner. These results are published on October 15, 2012, as part of the launch of the new open-access journal eLife. http://phys.org/news269592190.html Biology Tue, 16 Oct 2012 07:47:56 EST news269592190 Larvae of the cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) are dreaded pests all over the world. They have a very wide host range: About 200 different plant species are known as potential food for the voracious insect. The herbivore attacks crops in Africa, South Europe, India, Central Asia, New Zealand, and Australia. Nearly 30% of all globally used insecticides − Bt toxins as well as pyrethroids − are applied to protect cotton and other crops against the bollworm. http://phys.org/news266665438.html Biology Wed, 12 Sep 2012 10:44:07 EST news266665438 Cocaine is one of the most commonly used (and abused) drugs, but we have almost no modern information on how plants produce this complex alkaloid. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have just discovered a key reaction in cocaine formation in the coca plant from South America, and identified the responsible enzyme. This enzyme belongs to the aldo-keto-reductase protein family revealing new insights into the evolution of cocaine biosynthesis. http://phys.org/news258206045.html Biology Wed, 06 Jun 2012 12:54:11 EST news258206045 Following herbivory, plants produce jasmonic acid, a hormone which activates several plant defense reactions. Scientists found that leafhoppers can evaluate whether tobacco plants are ready for defense when attacked. If jasmonate-signaling is activated, leafhoppers desist from feeding and test other plants. If the hormonal signaling system is dysfunctional, the herbivores start their attack. In field experiments, the leafhoppers proved as "bloodhounds" to locate plants hidden in natural populations which are naturally defective in jasmonate signaling. http://phys.org/news256992650.html Biology Wed, 23 May 2012 11:50:59 EST news256992650 In collaboration with colleagues from Portugal and Spain, researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena, Germany, have developed an apparatus that automatically applies odors to an airstream, while filming and analyzing the behavior of insects simultaneously. The system is called Flywalk and consists of glass tubes, airstream regulators, and a video camera. The reactions of 15 flies to up to eight different odorant signals can be tested at the same time. A first series of tests revealed that male and female fruit flies responded differently to attractant substances. The tests confirmed that male flies were no longer attracted to females that had already mated with another male because of the particular odor, cis-vaccenyl acetate, surrounding these females. http://phys.org/news254569204.html Biology Wed, 25 Apr 2012 10:43:25 EST news254569204 Microbes are omnipresent on earth. They are found as free-living microorganisms as well as in communities with other higher organisms. Thanks to modern biological techniques we are now able to address the complex communities and study the role of individual microorganisms and enzymes in more detail. http://phys.org/news234092943.html Chemistry Thu, 01 Sep 2011 10:49:24 EST news234092943 During field studies, scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology discovered that the oral secretions of tobacco hornworm larvae contain a particular substance that promptly alters a green leaf volatile in tobacco leaves into an odor attractant signal. With this signal, called (E)-2-hexenal, they unintentionally lure their own enemies: carnivorous bugs. These bugs start their piercing attacks not only against freshly hatched caterpillar babies; they also devour eggs laid by the female moths. http://phys.org/news202032966.html Biology Thu, 26 Aug 2010 14:00:21 EST news202032966 Slugs are every gardener's enemy: They can destroy overnight, what he has sown and looked after lovingly. But snails don't like all plants in the same way - they shun moss. Why is that so? http://phys.org/news195382125.html Chemistry Thu, 10 Jun 2010 09:49:04 EST news195382125 Rapeseed is one of the ten most important agricultural crops worldwide. In spring, the rapeseed fields with their bright yellow flowers are widely visible: this year winter rapeseed is being cultivated on 1.46 million hectares in Germany; at least 2.2 million tons of rapeseed oil can be expected. http://phys.org/news189079832.html Biology Mon, 29 Mar 2010 11:11:20 EST news189079832 Desert ants are well-known for their remarkable orientation: they use a compass along with a step counter and visible landmarks to locate their nest. After researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology discovered that these ants can navigate also by using olfactory cues, they now found that the animals even can take advantage of the distribution of different odors in a map-like manner by utilizing their antennae to smell their environment in stereo. http://phys.org/news187360582.html Biology Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:37:03 EST news187360582 A longstanding and fruitful collaboration between researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and the University of Neuchâtel in Switzerland, together with contributions from colleagues in Munich and the US, has produced another first: the successful manipulation of a crop plant to emit a signal that attracts beneficial organisms. http://phys.org/news168539528.html Biology Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:20:01 EST news168539528 Vinegar flies (Drosophila melanogaster) show a highly selective behavior towards odor stimuli. A series of behavioral studies showed that a single olfactory stimulus is often not sufficient for immediate attraction to potential food sources or oviposition sites. Interestingly, the behavior differed between investigated D. melanogaster varieties, so-called "wildtypes". http://phys.org/news142156975.html Biology Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:02:55 EST news142156975