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Diversity of ciliates of the family Nyctotheridae in cockroaches
Soviš, Matyáš ; Čepička, Ivan (advisor) ; Škaloud, Pavel (referee)
Cockroaches are tremendously interesting group of insects with broad morphological diversity and a wide range of lifestyles. They are known to host a plethora of fascinating protists ranging from excavate flagellates through gregarines and amoebozoans to extraordinary ciliates of the group Armophorea. There is however, in contrast to the flagellates, only scarce information on these intestinal ciliates. The available data are mostly only morphological and there is a limited information on their host specificity. Therefore, we chose to inspect the diversity of ciliates in cockroaches, both in the stock cultures of Department of Zoology on Charles University as well as in those collected in nature. We studied their presence in various cockroach lineages, obtained 18S rRNA gene sequence data, and assessed their phylogenetic relationships. We also performed protargol staining of the cells to characterize the morphology of individual lineages.
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Digestive enzymes in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) : a short review
Šustr, Vladimír ; Schlick-Steiner, B.C. ; Steiner, F. M.
The literature data on the digestive enzymes present in different taxonomic groups of ants are reviewed and their patterns of occurrence across the various groups are tested. Data are available on 32 digestive enzymes from 62 ant species from 15 tribes belonging to seven subfamilies (Dolichoderinae, Ecitoninae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae, Paraponerinae, Ponerinae, and Pseudomyrmecinae). Leaf-cutter ants (Myrmicinae, higher Attini) are the best-investigated group. Nearly all analysed enzymes were present in all the species investigated, irrespective of taxonomic group. The only significant difference across taxonomic groups concerns enzymes that attack plant structural polysaccharides (cellulases, pectinase, xylanase). These were more frequent in leaf-cutter ants than in other groups. To detect potential additional differences between groups differing in their feeding habits, more comprehensive qualitative data acquisition will be necessary.
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