Entomological Research Research Articles

IPathCons and iPathDB: an improved insect pathway construction tool and the database.

Insects are one of the most successful animal groups on earth. Some insects, such as the silkworm and honeybee, are beneficial to humans, whereas others are notorious pests of crops. At present, the genomes of 38 insects have been sequenced and made publically available. In addition, the transcriptomes of dozens of insects have been sequenced. As gene data rapidly accumulate, constructing the pathway of molecular interactions becomes increasingly important for entomological research. Here, we developed an improved tool, iPathCons, for knowledge-based construction of pathways from the transcriptomes or the official gene sets of genomes. Considering the high evolution diversity in insects, iPathCons uses a voting system for Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes Orthology assignment. Both stand-alone software and a web server of iPathCons are provided. Using iPathCons, we constructed the pathways of molecular interactions of 52 insects, including 37 genome-sequenced and 15 transcriptome-sequenced ones. These pathways are available in the iPathDB, which provides searches, web server, data downloads, etc. This database will be highly useful for the insect research community.Database URL: http://ento.njau.edu.cn/ipath/

THE DEPENDENCE OF NORMAL AND BLACK LIGHT TYPE TRAPPING RESULTS UPON THE WINGSPAN OF MOTH SPECIES

In the last decade several researchers found relat ion between the wingspan size of moths and their light sensitivity. Generally, moths with larg er wingspan have higher light sensitivity. We teste d these findings using the catch data of 378 Macrolepidopte ra species from 19 black light (BL, 125 W) and normal light trap (100 W) pairs of the Hungarian Li ght Trap Network. We have found that wingspan size of about 25 mm is the limit below which some species were trapped more effectively by normal light tra p, compared to BL. However, BL trap catch ratio of moths with wingspan of over about 35 mm is nearly 100 %, compared to normal light trap. According to the catch results of a site where normal and BL tra ps were placed close enough for the moths to perceive both at the same time, 75 % of moths with even smal l wingspan were caught by BL traps. Regarding the fact that BL traps collected significantly more individuals of Macrolepidoptera species with their wingspan over 35 mm on all sites of observation, we can conclude that Wolfram light bulb of 100 W is ha rdly suitable to use for this purpose. Consequently , considering our results, the light trap type can mo re effectively be specialized to the purpose of the observation according to the wingspan of the target ed species from which fact plant protection applications and entomological research projects ca n successfully benefit. Keywords: Macrolepidoptera, wingspan, spectral sensitivity, l ight traps

SURVEY AND ISOLATION OF NATURAL INCIDENCE OF DIFFERENT FUNGAL PATHOGENS AGAINST HOUSE FLIES IN DIFFERENT URBAN HABITATS

ABSTRACT The investigation on survey of entomopathogenic fungi and isolation against house fly, Musca domestica L. (Muscidae: Diptera) were carried out during 2010-2011 at the Department of Entomology, UAS, Bengaluru and Bio Control Research Laboratory, Pest Control India Private Limited, Bengaluru. Surveys were carried out once in eight days during August to September 2010 in poultry farm, dairy farm, piggery farm and slaughter house in Bengaluru and surrounding areas for natural occurrence of fungal pathogens on house flies. House fly is a well known nuisance pest in all the visited farms and this species is also found in association with human activities, cattle units, poultry farms, and piggery farm. In all the visited farms, insecticides like Deltamethrin, Ektomin, Dichlorovas and pest-o-flash (light trap) are currently being used for managing the house fly. Soil baiting with larvae of Galleria mellonella yielded two isolates representing two genera, Beauveria bassiana and Metarrizium anisopliae from three different locations. No fungus was recovered from the UAS, GKVK Piggery farm. The survey revealed that incidence of fungal species in all farm sectors. House fly population was not widely prevalent in all the locations surveyed. Only two fungal species viz., B. bassiana and Aspergillus flavus were isolated during the survey and there was no epizootic incidence of fungal pathogens during this period. Future studies should be carried out by using different methods of isolation of fungus from naturally occurring house flies.

Sally Gregory Kohlstedt and David Kaiser (eds), Science and the American Century: Readings from "Isis"

It is always a pleasure to sit and read a well-crafted, thought-provoking article. So much more a pleasure, then, to find fifteen such articles in one place, as is the case with Science and the American Century. The volume gathers together contributions on various aspects of American science (less so technology and medicine) since the 1880s, all of which were published in Isis between 1996 and 2010. Though the contributions are eclectic—ranging widely in subject matter, as well as scale and style of argument—the volume offers a coherent and at times surprising look at some of the topics that have concerned historians of American science over the past ten to twenty years. The editors identify three broad subject areas around which the volume is organised. The first, ‘Nature, Science, and Environmental Perspectives’, includes contributions by Daniel W. Schneider on the interactions of professional science and local labour and knowledge in early ecological research, Philip J. Pauly on the science and politics of non-native species in the early-twentieth century, Michael Rossi on the meanings of authenticity in the construction of natural history models, Paul S. Sutter on environmental knowledge and entomological research in the building of the Panama Canal, and Joshua Blu Buhs on controversies over pesticide use in the late-twentieth century. A second set of articles, ‘Patrons, Politics, and the Physical Sciences’, includes work by Alex Wellerstein on the patenting of nuclear weapons by the US government, David Kaiser on political activism and pedagogical practice in post-war physics, W. Patrick McCray on the participation of amateur astronomers in the International Geophysical Year, Scott G. Knowles and Stuart W. Leslie on the architectural design of post-war corporate research laboratories, and Catherine Westfall on medium-scale physics and the need for alternate histories of Big Science. The third section, ‘Social Policies, Scientific Practice, and the Law’, is more motley in its composition, with articles by Ellen Herman on scientific adoption in the early-to-mid-twentieth century, John P. Jackson, Jr. on the role of social science in legal battles against discrimination in the 1940s, David S. Jones on controversies over cardiac surgery and clinical trials in the late-twentieth century, Sally Smith Hughes on the patenting of recombinant DNA technology, and Brianna Rego on the tobacco industry and research into the hazards of polonium in cigarettes.

PM 7/116 (1)Tetranychus evansi

PM 7/116 (1)<i>Tetranychus evansi</i>

Entomopathogenic Fungi Associated with Exotic Invasive Insect Pests in Northeastern Forests of the USA.

Mycopathogens of economically important exotic invasive insects in forests of northeastern USA have been the subject of research at the Entomology Research Laboratory, University of Vermont, for the last 20 years. Elongate hemlock scale, European fruit lecanium, hemlock woolly adelgid and pear thrips were analyzed for the presence of mycopathogens, in order to consider the potential for managing these pests with biological control. Fungal cultures isolated from insects with signs of fungal infection were identified based on morphological characters and DNA profiling. Mycopathogens recovered from infected insects were subdivided into three groups, i.e., specialized entomopathogenic; facultative entomopathogens; ubiquitous opportunistic contaminants. Epizootics were caused by fungi in the specialized group with the exception of M. microspora, P. marquandii and I. farinosa. Inoculation of insects in laboratory and field conditions with B. bassiana, L. muscarium and Myriangium sp. caused insect mortality of 45 to 95%. Although pest populations in the field seemed severely compromised after treatment, the remnant populations re-established themselves after the winter. Although capable of inducing high mortality, a single localized aerial application of a soil-dwelling fungus does not maintain long-time suppression of pests. However, it can halt their range expansion and maintain populations below the economic threshold level without the use of expensive insecticides which have a negative impact on the environment.

Decomposition and entomological colonization of charred bodies – a pilot study

AimTo use forensic entomological approach to estimate the post mortem interval (PMI) in burnt remains.MethodsTwo experiments were performed in a field in the outskirts of Milan, in winter and summer 2007. Four 60-kg pigs were used: two for each experiment. One pig carcass was burnt until it reached the level 2-3 of the Glassman-Crow scale and the not-burnt carcass was used as a control. In order to describe the decomposition process and to collect the data useful for minimum PMI estimation, macroscopic, histological, and entomological analyses were performed.ResultsIn the winter part of the experiment, the first insect activity on the burnt carcass began in the third week (Calliphora vomitoria) and at the beginning of the fourth week an increase in the number of species was observed. In the summer part, adult flies and first instar maggots (Phormia regina) appeared a few minutes/hours after the carcass exposure. Both in winter and summer, flies belonging to the first colonization wave (Calliphoridae) appeared on burnt and control pigs at the same time, whereas other species (Diptera and Coleoptera) appeared earlier on burnt pigs.ConclusionIn forensic practice, burnt bodies are among the most neglected fields of entomological research, since they are supposed to be an inadequate substratum for insect colonization. Entomological approach for PMI estimation proved to be useful, although further studies on larger samples are needed.

‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’

<i>‘Candidatus</i> Liberibacter solanacearum’

Thermogenesis in decomposing carcasses

It is of fundamental importance in forensic entomology that the factors controlling carcass temperatures during decomposition are thoroughly understood. The thermal environment to which fly larvae are exposed is the primary influence on their growth rate, and hence affects any estimate of minimum time since death using such specimens in homicide investigations. To date, much of the entomological research on maggot masses has focused on their elevation of carcass temperatures, with very little focus on the bacteria associated with larval activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the heat associated with decay and the types of bacteria present during the decomposition of a carcass, both in the presence and in the absence of maggots. Three treatments were imposed: fresh, frozen and maggot-infested, each consisting of five replicate pig carcasses. Temperature measurements and bacterial swabs were taken from the gastro-intestinal region of each pig and temperatures and bacterial communities compared between treatments. All carcasses reached average maximum temperatures above 32°C in a temperature controlled room set at 23°C. Treatment had no statistically significant effect on the temperatures recorded in each carcass but did significantly affect the community structure of the bacteria. However, bacterial community structure varied across time. This study suggests that bacterial metabolism plays a significant role in carcass thermogenesis, and that maggot masses, while contributing to localised heating within the carcass, may have less of a role in elevating carcass temperatures than previously assumed.

Infrared imaging as a non-invasive tool for documenting maggot mass temperatures

Forensic entomology relies on the ability to predict the temperatures to which maggots have been exposed, due to the resultant impact on their growth rate. Mercury thermometers and electrical temperature sensors have traditionally been used to record temperatures of maggot masses, cadavers and the surrounding soil and air. However, these techniques are limited to one measurement at a time and thus may not accurately describe the complexities of the thermal environment of the cadaver. Infrared imaging has gained increasing popularity because of its resolution, affordability and portability. Using decomposing pig carcasses, the current study showed that surface temperature measurements recorded using temperature loggers are able to be successfully replicated by taking spot measurements from an infrared image. Additionally, by recording the maximum temperature observed within each infrared image, an accurate proxy was achieved for internal temperatures of a carcass placed outdoors (R2=0.46, p<0.001). By studying a pig in a temperature-controlled room and thus removing external environmental factors, the strength of the relationship between maximum infrared temperature and internal carcass temperatures was increased (R2=0.98, p<0.001). This successful characterisation of maggot mass temperatures within carcasses should encourage the application of infrared imaging in forensic entomology research and casework.

Contribuciones de Zamorano al Entendimiento de la Biodiversidad de los Artrópodos de Honduras

La Colección de Artrópodos de Zamorano fue fundada hace más de 30 años y tiene más de 250,000 especímenes, los órdenes más dominantes son Coleoptera, Hymenoptera y Lepidoptera. Más de 90,000 especímenes identificados están digitalizados en su propia base de datos y han sido recolectados en más de 300 sitios, la mayoría en Honduras. Los inventarios de escarabajos de las familias Cerambycidae y Scarabaeidae y de parasitoides himenópteros son de valor científico enorme y único en toda la región. Cuatro proyectos muy influyentes, financiados por fondos externos, fueron realizados durante los primeros 25 años de la colección y están descritos con sus logros centrales: 1) inventario de los parasitoides de la mosca blanca de la batata, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius); 2) la diversidad y biología de los escarabajos joya, Chrysina spp. (Scarabaeidae); 3) inventario de la subfamilia Dynastinae (Scarabaeidae); y 4) la capacitación de maestros, guardarecursos y guías sobre varios aspectos de la entomología. Catorce estudiantes zamoranos hicieron sus tesis en biodiversidad vinculadas con la misión de la Colección. Zamorano apoya la organización, la logística y las investigaciones entomológicas internacionales en Honduras. Además, en cooperación con fundaciones e instituciones nacionales y estatales, se investiga la biodiversidad de artrópodos en áreas protegidas de Honduras. En la gran mayoría de estas áreas, pocos o ningún dato existe sobre la fauna de artrópodos presente. Próximamente, se unirá la Colección de Artrópodos de Zamorano con otra colección importante regionalmente, el Museo Entomológico de León, Nicaragua, añadiendo otros 250,000 especímenes, en su mayoría recolectados en Nicaragua, para ser incorporados al inventario presente. Así, la colección de Zamorano contará con aproximadamente 500,000 especímenes y se convertirá en la colección más grande y representativa de Honduras y Nicaragua, y será una de las colecciones más grandes e importantes de Centroamérica.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5377/ceiba.v52i1.1036

Instar Determination of Blaptica dubia (Blattodea: Blaberidae) using Gaussian Mixture Models

Abstract Instar determination is fundamental to both basic entomological research and its application. The cockroach, Blaptica dubia Serville (Blattodea: Blaberidae), is a popular pet and an excellent feeder insect for many reptiles and amphibians. A new method using Gaussian mixture models to determine the number of instars in this species is developed. Application of the method is illustrated by analysis of data collected on B. dubia. The analysis indicates that there are seven instars in B. dubia and that the growth ratio follows the Brooks—Dyar rule. The growth ratio of pronotal length, pronotal width, and head width are 1.26, 1.24, and 1.19, respectively. Because B. dubia shares a similar growth pattern with other paurometabolous insects, this method may be applicable to other species as well.

Suitability of Centella Asiatica (Pegaga) as a Food Source for Rearing Spodoptera Litura (F.) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) under Laboratory Conditions

Abstract When conducting entomological research, it is necessary to have a sufficient quantity of the desired pest. One of the pests commonly used in research is Spodoptera litura. Mass rearing of herbivorous caterpillars like S. litura requires large amounts of a suitable food source. Hence, the use of an easy-to-grow host plant would be most practical and reasonable. Centella asiatica known as ‘pegaga’ grows easily, produces plenty of leaves, and is available throughout the year in Malaysia. The suitability of C. asiatica as a food source for S. litura was evaluated by studying the biology of this pest on excised C. asiatica leaves, under laboratory conditions. S. litura completed its whole life cycle in 29 to 35 days. The mean pupal weight and the average number of eggs laid by a single female were 0.341 g and 1,930 eggs, respectively. Daily monitoring of the larval development stages as well as analysis on the width of head capsules, revealed the existence of six instars during the larval stages of S. litura. The cumulative survival rate for immature developmental stages was 80%, while the stage-specific survivorship was over 90%. This study demonstrated the use of ‘pegaga’ as a suitable new food source for when rearing S. litura larvae in the laboratory.

Hot temperatures can force delayed mosquito outbreaks via sequential changes in Aedes aegypti demographic parameters in autocorrelated environments

Aedes aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae) is a common pantropical urban mosquito, vector of dengue, Yellow Fever and chikungunya viruses. Studies have shown Ae. aegypti abundance to be associated with environmental fluctuations, revealing patterns such as the occurrence of delayed mosquito outbreaks, i.e., sudden extraordinary increases in mosquito abundance following transient extreme high temperatures. Here, we use a two-stage (larvae and adults) matrix model to propose a mechanism for environmental signal canalization into demographic parameters of Ae. aegypti that could explain delayed high temperature induced mosquito outbreaks. We performed model simulations using parameters estimated from a weekly time series from Thailand, assuming either independent or autocorrelated environments. For autocorrelated environments, we found that long delays in the association between the onset of “hot” environments and mosquito outbreaks (10 weeks, as observed in Thailand) can be generated when “hot” environments sequentially trigger a larval survival decrease and over-compensatory fecundity increase, which lasts for the whole “hot” period, in conjunction with a larval survival increase followed by a fecundity decrease when the environment returns to “normal”. This result was not observed for independent environments. Finally, we discuss our results implications for prospective entomological research and vector management under changing environments.

PATOGENISITAS CENDAWAN ENTOMOPATOGEN Beauveria bassiana (DEUTEROMYCOTINA: HYPHOMYCETES) PADA BERBAGAI STADIA KEPIK HIJAU (NEZARA VIRIDULA L.)

Pathogenicity of Beauveria bassiana Bals. Vuill. (Deuteromycotina:Hyphomycetes) on various stages of eggs and nymphs of the green stink bug (Nezara viridula L.) . The green stink bug (Nezara viridula L.) is one of the important soybean pod-sucking bug besides brown stink bug (Riptortus linearis) and green stink bug (Piezodorus hybneri). Up to now, pest control mostlyrely on the chemical insecticides, The objectiveof this experiment was to study the pathogenicity of Beauveria bassianaon various stages of eggs and nymphs of the green stink bug. Experiment was conducted in the laboratory of Entomology, Indonesian Legumes and Tuber Crops Research Institute (ILETRI) Malang, from January to June 2011. The treatments consists of various eggs and nymphs stages of green stink bug. The results showed that B. bassiana was able to infect the eggs green stink bug both of the newly laid and the six days old eggs. As a results of this infection, 96% eggs did not hatched. The younger of eggs, the more susceptible to B. bassiana. The infected egg prolonged hatching periods to three days. B. bassianawas also toxic to all stages of the green stink bug, especially to the first and second instarswith mortality rate of 69-96%. The nymph of third, fourth, ad fifth instar and adult stage were more tolerant to the B. bassiana infection. This study suggest that one way to control green stink bug be the use of entomopathogen B. bassiana againts their ggs or younginstar.

RNA interference: A powerful tool in entomological research and a novel approach for insect pest management

Insect ScienceVolume 20, Issue 1 p. 1-3 PREFACE RNA interference: A powerful tool in entomological research and a novel approach for insect pest management Kun Yan Zhu, Kun Yan Zhu Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506–4004, USASearch for more papers by this author Kun Yan Zhu, Kun Yan Zhu Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506–4004, USASearch for more papers by this author First published: 27 November 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.12006Citations: 27 Kun Yan Zhu, Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506–4004, USA. Tel: (785) 532-4721; fax: (785) 532-6232; email: kzhu@ksu.edu Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume20, Issue1February 2013Pages 1-3 RelatedInformation

How do plant communities and flower visitors relate? A case study of semi-natural xerothermic grasslands

&lt;p&gt;The paper examines the relationships between the species composition of flower visitors and plants in the semi-natural xerothermic grasslands in southern and central Poland. Thirty 10 × 10 m permanent plots were laid out in total, mainly in nature reserves. The vegetation units studied were classified according to the Braun-Blanquet system; these were phytocoenoses of the &lt;em&gt;Festuco-Brometea&lt;/em&gt; classes &lt;em&gt;Inuletum ensifoliae&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Adonido-Brachypodietum pinnati&lt;/em&gt; and the transitional plant community. Entomological research was performed using the Pollard method within the same plots. A particular site was visited only once and different sites were studied between April and August 2008. We applied, among others, co-correspondence-analysis Co-CA, detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) and redundancy analysis (RDA) to investigate the co-occurrence patterns of plants and flower visitors and their biotopic requirements. We found that the species composition of flower visitors cannot be predicted by floristic composition when the duration of the study is restricted to one day (but under similar weather conditions); however, there is a positive relationship between the species richness of insects and plants and a positive relationship between the number of plant species and the abundance of flower visitors. The Ellenberg moisture index and the cover of meadow species significantly explained the species composition of insects. The three various vegetation units and five dominant xerothermic species, i.e. &lt;em&gt;Adonis vernalis&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Anemone sylvestris&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Inula ensifolia&lt;/em&gt;, &lt;em&gt;Linum hirsutum&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;Carlina onopordifolia&lt;/em&gt; that were studied across time differed in the species richness of insects. Our results demonstrate that possible patterns in the species composition and the assembly rules of flower visitors are not apparent when the Pollard method is applied. Based on the data obtained using this method, the flower visiting assemblages seem not to be driven by competition and they primarily show a tendency to co-occur which can be an artifact. A plant-focused method that included a rarefaction analysis yielded more insightful results and shed more light on the differences between the dominant plants that shape the physiognomy of plant communities in a possible pollination specialization.&lt;/p&gt;

Odour-Mediated Orientation of Beetles Is Influenced by Age, Sex and Morph

The behaviour of insects is dictated by a combination of factors and may vary considerably between individuals, but small insects are often considered en masse and thus these differences can be overlooked. For example, the cowpea bruchid Callosobruchus maculatus F. exists naturally in two adult forms: the active (flight) form for dispersal, and the inactive (flightless), more fecund but shorter-lived form. Given that these morphs show dissimilar biology, it is possible that they differ in odour-mediated orientation and yet studies of this species frequently neglect to distinguish morph type, or are carried out only on the inactive morph. Along with sex and age of individual, adult morph could be an important variable determining the biology of this and similar species, informing studies on evolution, ecology and pest management. We used an olfactometer with motion-tracking to investigate whether the olfactory behaviour and orientation of C. maculatus towards infested and uninfested cowpeas and a plant-derived repellent compound, methyl salicylate, differed between morphs or sexes. We found significant differences between the behaviour of male and female beetles and beetles of different ages, as well as interactive effects of sex, morph and age, in response to both host and repellent odours. This study demonstrates that behavioural experiments on insects should control for sex and age, while also considering differences between adult morphs where present in insect species. This finding has broad implications for fundamental entomological research, particularly when exploring the relationships between physiology, behaviour and evolutionary biology, and the application of crop protection strategies.

Corrigendum

Entomological ResearchVolume 42, Issue 6 p. 347-347 CorrigendumFree Access Corrigendum This article corrects the following: Review of family Lucanidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) in Korea with the description of one new species Sang Il KIM, Jin Ill KIM, Volume 40Issue 1Entomological Research pages: 55-81 First Published online: January 25, 2010 First published: 31 October 2012 https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-5967.12001AboutSectionsPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat The authors would like to draw the reader's attention to the error in the following article: References Sang Il KIM, Jin Ill KIM (2010) Review of family Lucanidae (Insecta: Coleoptera) in Korea with the description of one new species. Entomological Research 40: 55– 81. Wiley Online LibraryGoogle Scholar On page 66, It should read, Docus tenuihirsutus Kim & Kim, sp. nov., as opposed to Dorcus tenuirhirsutus Kim, sp. nov. The authors apologize for the error and any confusion it may have caused. Volume42, Issue6November 2012Pages 347-347 ReferencesRelatedInformation

Metabolic effects of CO 2 anaesthesia in Drosophila melanogaster

Immobilization of insects is necessary for various experimental purposes, and CO(2) exposure remains the most popular anaesthetic method in entomological research. A number of negative side effects of CO(2) anaesthesia have been reported, but CO(2) probably brings about metabolic modifications that are poorly known. In this work, we used GC/MS-based metabolic fingerprinting to assess the effect of CO(2) anaesthesia in Drosophila melanogaster adults. We analysed metabolic variation of flies submitted to acute CO(2) exposure and assessed the temporal metabolic changes during short- and long-term recovery. We found that D. melanogaster metabotypes were significantly affected by the anaesthetic treatment. Metabolic changes caused by acute CO(2) exposure were still manifested after 14 h of recovery. However, we found no evidence of metabolic alterations when a long recovery period was allowed (more than 24 h). This study points to some metabolic pathways altered during CO(2) anaesthesia (e.g. energetic metabolism). Evidence of short-term metabolic changes indicates that CO(2) anaesthesia should be used with utmost caution in physiological studies when a short recovery is allowed. In spite of this, CO(2) treatment seems to be an acceptable anaesthetic method provided that a long recovery period is allowed (more than 24 h).