A new pseudoscorpion, Lagynochthonius bailongtanensis sp. nov., is described and illustrated from specimens collected in a cave in Luoping County, Yunnan Province, China. This species is notable in being strongly troglomorphic. A new identification key is provided to all known Chinese representatives of the genus Lagynochthonius.
1 December 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
A new pseudoscorpion species, Bisetocreagris xiaoensis Li & Liu, sp. n., is described and illustrated from specimens collected in caves in Yanjin County, Yunnan Province, China. An identification key is provided to all known cavedwelling representatives of the genus Bisetocreagris in the world.
The piRNA pathway is essential for female fertility in golden hamsters and likely humans, but not in mice. However, the role of individual PIWIs in mammalian reproduction remains poorly understood outside of mice. Here, we describe the expression profiles, subcellular localization, and knockout-associated reproductive defects for all four PIWIs in golden hamsters. In female golden hamsters, PIWIL1 and PIWIL3 are highly expressed throughout oogenesis and early embryogenesis, while knockout of PIWIL1 leads to sterility, and PIWIL3 deficiency results in subfertility with lagging zygotic development. PIWIL1 can partially compensate for TE silencing in PIWIL3 knockout females, but not vice versa. PIWIL1 and PIWIL4 are the predominant PIWIs expressed in adult and postnatal testes, respectively, while PIWIL2 is present at both stages. Loss of any PIWI expressed in testes leads to sterility and severe but distinct spermatogenesis disorders. These findings illustrate the non-redundant regulatory functions of PIWI-piRNAs in gametogenesis and early embryogenesis in golden hamsters, facilitating study of their role in human fertility.
The jumping spider genus Epeus Peckham & Peckham presently includes 15 species, mainly from South and Southeast Asia (World Spider Catalog 2015). Species of this genus have the cymbium of male palp flattened and elongated, with a basal apophysis retrolaterally, pointing postero-ventrally; tegulum with a tongue-like process; filiform embolus; and epigyne with long copulatory ducts with several loops.