Host races in Chaetostomella cylindrica (Diptera: Tephritidae): genetic and behavioural evidence.

The highly oligophagous tephritid Chaetostomella cylindrica infests the flower heads of six genera and ten species of thistles in Lebanon. It predominantly utilizes two hosts occurring in sympatry, Notobasis syriaca and Onopordum illyricum. Previous work showed that adult flies emerging from N. syriaca fit more closely the description of the species, particularly with respect to the colour and pattern on the mesonotum; furthermore, significant differences were observed between the aculeus shape and length. This study investigates the biology of the immatures and compares adults from the two host races behaviourally and genetically. Larvae of both races fed in a similar way, with each larva destroying 3-10 achenes; however, the oviposition behaviour of females differed. Females of the Onopordum-associated flies laid an average of three eggs per head, and deposited the eggs glued to each others in a cluster, while females of the Notobasis-associated flies deposited their eggs unattached, usually with one egg per head. Subtle differences were also observed in the post-mating behaviour of adult males. DNA sequencing of an amplified fragment of the mitochondrial NADH-dehydrogenase subunit 1 gene revealed 44 single nucleotide polymorphisms in 622 base pairs. A PCR-RFLP method was developed to distinguish the two host-associated populations. Together with previously published morphometric studies, our data show that C. cylindrica consists of distinct host races, which seem to be reproductively isolated as two separate genetic lineages were observed.

Larvicidal activity of essential oils extracted from commonly used herbs in Lebanon against the seaside mosquito, Ochlerotatus caspius.

This study investigates the potential of essential oils from commonly used medical and culinary herbs in Lebanon as an environmentally safe measure to control the seaside mosquito, Ochlerotatus caspius. The composition of essential oils extracted from parsley seeds and leaves, alpine thyme inflorescences, anis seeds, and coriander fruits were analyzed by GC-MS, and the major components of these oils were found to be thymol, sabinene, carvacrol, anethole, and linalool, respectively. Mosquito larvicidal assays were conducted to evaluate the LC(50) and LC(90) after 24 and 48h of the essential oils and their major constituents. All of the tested oils proved to have strong larvicidal activity (LC(50): 15-156ppm) against Oc. caspius fourth instars, with the most potent oil being thyme inflorescence extract, followed by parsley seed oil, aniseed oil, and then coriander fruit oil. Toxicity of each oil major constituent was also estimated and compared to a reported larvicidal compound, eugenol.

A two-year survey on mosquitoes of Lebanon.

A total of 6,500 mosquitoes were identified during a two-year survey (1999-2001) in Lebanon, and these belonged to twelve species: Culex pipiens, Cx. laticinctus, Cx. mimeticus, Cx. hortensis, Cx. judaicus, Aedes aegypti, Ae. cretinus, Ochlerotatus caspius, Oc. geniculatus, Oc. pulchritarsis, Culiseta longiareolata and Anopheles claviger. Culex pipiens was the most predominant species in Lebanon, collected indoors and outdoors. It was continuously abundant and active throughout the year. Culex judaicus was a small and rare mosquito and it is reported to occur for the first time in Lebanon. On the coastal areas, Ochlerotatus caspius was very common, and proved to be a complex of species as two forms were detected. One of the vectors of malaria, Anopheles claviger, was collected from May to September, from eight sites in Lebanon. Its breeding sites were restricted to fresh, cool, and clean water in pools and wells. Most of these breeding sites were in the populated Metn County where a few indigenous cases of malaria were reported from 1997-2000. This shows that the reported malaria cases were not imported, but caused by the bites of locally infected Anopheles females.

The fate and persistence of zineb, maneb, and ethylenethiourea on fresh and processed tomatoes.

Tomatoes grown under greenhouse conditions were sprayed with radiolabelled maneb and zineb to determine the extent of degradation of these fungicides to ethylenethiourea (ETU) and to study the persistence of ETU on the fruits. The total (14C) residues decreased from 0.082 mg/kg and 0.11 mg/kg at day 0 to 0.023 mg/kg and 0.05 mg/kg at day 20, on zineb- and maneb-treated fruits, respectively. This reduction was mainly due to the rapid growth of the fruits. ETU residues on tomato fruits were found to decline with time. A sharp reduction in ETU content was observed during the first 24 h after treatment, followed by a slow decline in the following 5 days. ETU content was reduced by about 80% by day 20 after the fungicide application, and the concentration of EU, the major degradation product of ETU, doubled during the same period. Studies with tomatoes fortified with (14C) ETU (0.006 mg/kg) prior to processing into tomato paste showed that 70% of the radioactivity was lost during washing of the tomatoes in water. Further losses of ETU occurred during boiling of the juice (6%) and during storage of the tomato paste for a period of 3 weeks (3%).

The epidemiology of leishmaniases in Lebanon.

The prevalence of leishmaniasis in Lebanon was studied in 1993-97 for a Lebanese population sample of about 81,000 subjects (60% rural and 40% urban) constituting roughly 3.4% of the total population. The prevalence of cutaneous leishmaniasis was found to be 0.18% in the rural versus 0.41% in the urban areas. Visceral leishmaniasis was practically non-existent in both environments. In addition, skin tests were done and anti-Leishmania antibodies were sought in a sample of the population at risk in the rural area. Skin tests were positive in 2.5% of the tested subjects, and 1% of the normal population had elevated levels of anti-Leishmania antibodies. The difference between the prevalence of clinical disease and positive skin testing and/or antibodies may be due to the existence of past or present subclinical disease. An unexpected finding was that the prevalent dermotropic parasite in Lebanon belongs to the L. donovani complex. Further characterization of the isolates by molecular techniques and definition of the transmission cycle of this parasite may explain our epidemiological findings.

Isoenzyme characterization of Leishmania isolates from Lebanon and Syria.

Leishmania parasites were isolated from 22 Lebanese and 5 Syrian patients with active skin lesions for whom the diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination. The isolates were characterized by starch gel electrophoresis and analysis of 13 enzyme systems. Eight Old-World reference strains were used for comparison. One Syrian isolate belonged to Leishmania major, and four Syrian and two Lebanese to Leishmania tropica. Contrary to expectations, the majority of Lebanese isolates were related to the Leishmania donovani complex, and more particularly Leishmania infantum.