A C-Type Lectin, RfCTL27, Activates the Immune Defense in the Red Palm Weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (A.G. Olivier, 1791) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Dryophthorinae) by the Recognition of Gram-Negative Bacteria.

Red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier), is a palm tree insect pest that causes significant damage in the many countries from the Indian sub-continent and southeast Asia into date palm-growing countries of Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean Basin. This study is aimed at determining the role of a C-type lectin, RfCTL27, in the immune defense of RPW larvae. RfCTL27 is a secreted protein that possesses a QPD motif, being integral for the discrimination of Gram-negative bacteria. The abundance of RfCTL27 transcripts in the gut and fat body was significantly higher than that in other tissues. Six hours after injection of Escherichia coli, the expression level of RfCTL27 in the gut of RPW larvae was significantly elevated compared with other groups. At 12 h after injection of E. coli, the expression of RfCTL27 in fat body was dramatically induced in contrast with other treatments. More interestingly, the ability of RPW larvae to clear the pathogenic bacteria in the body cavity and gut was markedly impaired by the silencing of RfCTL27. Additionally, the expression levels of two antimicrobial peptide genes, RfCecropin in the gut and RfDefensin in fat body of RPW larvae, were significantly decreased. Taken together, these data suggested that RfCTL27 can recognize the Gram-negative bacterium and activate the expression of antimicrobial peptides to remove the invaded bacterial pathogens. This study provides a new scientific basis for improving the control efficiency of pathogenic microorganisms against red palm weevils in production practice.

Preparation of 17ß-estradiol-imprinted material by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization and its application.

A novel 17ß-estradiol molecularly imprinted polymer was grafted onto the surface of initiator-immobilized silica by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization. The resulting molecularly imprinted polymer was characterized by elemental analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. The binding property of molecularly imprinted polymer for 17ß-estradiol was also studied with both static and dynamic methods. The results showed that the molecularly imprinted polymer possessed excellent recognition capacity for 17ß-estradiol (180.65 mg/g at 298 K), and also exhibited outstanding selectivity for 17ß-estradiol over the other competitive compounds (such as testosterone and progesterone). Then, the determination of trace 17ß-estradiol in beef samples was successfully developed by using molecularly imprinted polymer solid-phase extraction coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography. The limit of detection was 0.25 ng/mL, and the amount of 17ß-estradiol in beef samples was detected at 2.83 ng/g. This work proposed a sensitive, rapid, reliable, and convenient approach for the determination of trace 17ß-estradiol in complicated beef samples.