Carmen Rossini

Universidad de la República de Uruguay | UdelaR · Departamento de Química Orgánica

Over the last quarter century, increasing honey bee colony losses motivated standardized large-scale surveys of managed honey bees (Apis mellifera), particularly in Europe and the United States. Here we present the first large-scale standardized survey of colony losses of managed honey bees and stingless bees across Latin America. Overall, 1736 bee...

Plant-herbivore interactions have been extensively studied in tomato plants and their most common pests. Tomato plant chemical defenses, both constitutive and inducible, play a role in mediating these interactions. Damaged tomato plants alter their volatile profiles, affecting herbivore preferences between undamaged and damaged plants. However, pre...

Herbivorous insects assess and choose their potential host plants based on traits that may correlate with host suitability or quality. These traits may operate as cues for better resources, noxious chemicals, or fewer competitors and enemies. Interactions between insects and their host plants may also be modulated by the nutritional value of the pl...

Over the last quarter century, increasing bee colony losses motivated standardized large-scale surveys of managed honey bees ( Apis mellifera ), particularly in Europe and the United States. Here we present the first large-scale standardized survey of colony losses of managed honey bees and stingless bees across Latin America. Overall, 1736 beekeep...

Eucalyptus species are among the most planted trees in forestry production, an ever-increasing commercial activity worldwide. Forestry expansion demands a continuous search for preventive and sanitary measures against pests and diseases. Massive application of phytosanitary products is incompatible with the forestry sector, so forest health managem...

Plant-herbivore interactions have been extensively studied in tomato plants and their most common pests. Tomato plant chemical defenses, both constitutive and inducible, play a role in mediating these interactions. Damaged tomato plants alter their volatile profiles, affecting herbivore preferences between undamaged and damaged plants. However, pre...

The citrus borer, Diploschema rotundicolle (Audinet-Serville), is a cerambycid beetle native to the neotropical region. It is regarded as primary citrus pest in Uruguay; when populations are high, it causes serious deterioration in the structure of trees, resulting even in the death of trees, affecting grove productivity and patrimonial value. Cont...

Microbial agents exert their biocontrol effects through different mechanisms of action. Clavispora lusitaniae AgL21, a yeast capable of controlling postharvest diseases in lemon, produces volatile organic compounds (VOCs) impairing phytopathogenic fungi. Here we elucidate the nature of such compounds and check individual effects on mycelial growth...

In highly modified agricultural settings, it is now necessary to consider the management of plant diseases, insect pests and weeds within the One Health concept, to acknowledge that the health of plants, animals, environment and people are interlinked and interdependent. Articles included in this special issue of Sociedad Uruguaya de Fitopatología...

The “River Disease” (RD), a disorder impacting honeybee colonies located close to waterways with abundant riparian vegetation (including Sebastiania schottiana, Euphorbiaceae), kills newly hatched larvae. Forager bees from RD-affected colonies collect honeydew excretions from Epormenis cestri (Hemiptera: Flatidae), a planthopper feeding on trees of...

The "River Disease” (RD), a disorder impacting honeybee colonies located closed to waterways with abundant riparian vegetation (including Sebastiania schottiana , Euphorbiaceae), kills newly hatched larvae. Forager bees from RD-affected colonies collect honeydew excretions from Epormenis cestri (Hemiptera: Flatidae), a planthopper feeding on trees...

Acaricides and the gut parasite Nosema ceranae are commonly present in most productive hives. Those stressors could be affecting key semiochemicals, which act as homeostasis regulators in Apis mellifera colonies, such as cuticular hydrocarbons (CHC) involved in social recognition and ethyl oleate (EO) which plays a role as primer pheromone in honey...

When developing new products to be used in honeybee colonies, further than acute toxicity, it is imperative to perform an assessment of risks, including various sublethal effects. The long-term sublethal effects of xenobiotics on honeybees, more specifically of acaricides used in honeybee hives, have been scarcely studied, particularly so in the ca...

Persicaria maculosa (Polygonaceae) (known as lady’s thumb) is an annual morphologically variable weed that is widely distributed in Chile. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antifeedant potential of methanolic (MeOH), ethanolic (EtOH), and dichloromethane (DCM) extracts from the aerial parts of this plant collected in the Valparaíso a...

The Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, is currently the most important pest of citrus worldwide because it vectors ‘Candidatus Liberibacter’ spp., the etiological agents of lethal Huanglongbing (HLB). Reduction of D. citri populations is a key component of HLB management. Identifying potential D. citri attractants, such as volatiles, could be...

The bronze bug, Thaumastocoris peregrinus Carpintero & Dellapé (Heteroptera: Thaumastocoridae), is an exotic emerging pest in Eucalyptus commercial forests in South America, Africa, and southern Europe. Information on the chemical communication system and reproductive ecology of this insect is scant, and it may be relevant for designing management...

The bronze bug, Thaumastocoris peregrinus Carpintero & Dellape (Heteroptera: Thaumastocoridae), is an exotic emerging pest in Eucalyptus commercial forests in South America, Africa and southern Europe. Information on the chemical communication system and reproductive ecology of this insect is scant, and it may be relevant for designing management s...

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) crops are affected by a diversity of pests. Among these pests, the whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) and the leaf miner, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae) cause large yield losses. The effects from these insects are often minimized by applying synthetic pesticide...

Diverse parasites and pathogens affect productivity and survival of honey bees. Plant secondary metabolites are potential alternative treatments, however, their effect has been little studied on microsporidian diseases. Furthermore, there is poor information about the toxicity resulting from prolonged oral administration of these substances to bees...

In this study the strategy of isolating psychrotrophic, non-pectinolytic yeasts able to grow in apple juice as potential biocontrol agents was a successful approach. Thirty-four yeasts isolated from Antarctic were able to maintain rot incidence caused by P. expansum and B. cinerea under 25% on apples stored at 0-1 °C. Two of the isolates, identifie...

This study aimed to characterize the chemical composition of Aloysia polystachia, Acantholippia seriphioides, Schinus molle, Solidago chilensis, Lippia turbinata, Minthostachys mollis, Buddleja globosa and Baccharis latifolia essential oils (EOs), and evaluate their antibacterial activities and their capacity to provoke membrane disruption in Paeni...

Durante el proceso de poscosecha de frutas pueden surgir pérdidas debido a daño físico, deterioros fisiológicos y daños patológicos producidos por agentes bióticos (los principales patógenos causantes de pérdidas en la producción son los fúngicos). Tratando de minimizar el deterioro y buscando equilibrar la oferta y la demanda en diferentes épocas...

Various cutaneous glands have been identified as sources of chemical signals that mediate many social interactions in deer. The pampas deer, a species considered near threatened, inhabits grasslands of South America. In this work, the chemical compositions from preorbital, tarsal, and digital gland secretions of semi-captive males were characterize...

Botanical biopesticides constitute an important tool for Integrated Pest Management practices. Uruguay has a great potential for developing botanical biopesticides from its abundant native flora. Dodonaea viscosa Jacq. is a native Sapindaceae that in preliminary studies was shown to possess a potential deterrent activity against insect models. In t...

The phytochemical study of Uruguayan specimens of Allophylus edulis (Sapindaceae) yielded the isolation of various natural products being some of them reported for the first time in this species. Although most of them are ubiquitous in the plant kingdom, some revealed in this study to have anti insect properties. Two sesquiterpenes (6,7-Epoxicaryop...

Beekeeping has experienced a great expansion worldwide. Nowadays, several conventional pesticides, some organic acids, and essential oil components are the main means of chemical control used against Varroa destructor, an ectoparasite that may contribute to the colony collapse disorders. Varroa resistance against conventional pesticides has already...

Cucurbitacins are secondary metabolites that mediate insect plant interactions not only as allomones against generalists, but also as kairomones for specialist herbivores. This study was undertaken to identify the potential of cucurbitacin derivatives as insect antifeedant agents. The antifeedant capacity against a Cucurbitaceae specialist [Epilach...

Secondary metabolites from plants have been the source of various natural products with anti-insect properties; having some of them already reached the market. In recent years, the drawbacks related to the use of synthetic pesticides have triggered the need to find alternatives and brought about revitalization on bioprospecting programs. In that di...

Prospection for new sources of botanical pesticides has shown a revival in the last decades due not only to the fast development of resistance among different pests around the world but also by the need to use less eco-toxic products to control etiological agents of different pest-related problems found in agro-production. In this work, extracts fr...

Nowadays, new strategies for pest and disease control to be used in rotation with or replacement of conventional pesticides are required. Essential oils (EOs), as botanical pesticides, provide a potential resource to develop more environmentally friendly and less toxic means of control to be applied in different produces. Tomato crop is affected by...

Crocidosema (= Epinotia) aporema (Walsingham) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is a bud borer that feeds on soybean and forage legumes. Its economic importance is restricted to South America, where it can alternate throughout the year between forage and grain legumes. The sex pheromone of C. aporema females is composed of a 15:1 mixture of (7Z,9Z)-dodeca...

Resumen. el incesante aumento de la población mundial demandará un esfuerzo constante por optimizar los rendimientos en la producción de alimentos. un porcentaje importante de la producción agrícola es consumida por insectos herbívoros, por lo que el manejo ambientalmente sostenible de estas especies se presenta como un desafío actual y a futuro. L...

Forest plantations in Uruguay have doubled in the past decade, with Eucalyptus spp. leading this growth. The bronze bug, Thaumastocoris peregrinus (Heteroptera: Thaumastocoridae), originally restricted to Australia, is an important emerging pest of Eucalyptus plantations in the Southern hemisphere. T. peregrinus feeds on mature Eucalyptus leaves, c...

The ethanolic extract of ripe fruits of Melia azedarach (Meliaceae) and its subfractions were tested against four insect species, portraying important agricultural pests. Five limonoids were isolated: two tirucallane type triterpenoids never isolated before from this species (21α-methylmelianodiol, 21β-ethylmelianodiol), as well as three ring C-sec...

Ladybird beetles produce a large number of defensive alkaloids. Previous studies suggest that the structural diversity of these endogenous alkaloids can be traced to a common biosynthetic route based on the condensation of several acetate units. In this study, adults of Epilachna paenulata, a phytophagous neotropical species, were fed on diet enric...

Beekeeping has always been vulnerable to various sanitary drawbacks. The mite Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae), an obligated ectoparasite of honeybees, has been in recent times one of the major problems leading not only to economical losses but also to ecological problems related to the role of honeybees as the most important pollinators...

Pampas deer (Ozotoceros bezoarticus) constitutes an emblematic species of the Southern cone grasslands due to its serious risk of extinction. Isolated populations are spread throughout some regions of Argentina, south of Brasil, and Uruguay. The main semicaptive population, with approximately 80 individuals, is located in Uruguay, at the Estación d...

A bioassay-guided fractionation of leaf extracts from Clytostoma callistegioides (Cham.) Bureau ex Griseb. (Bignoniaceae) led to isolation of a natural mixture of four fatty acids with anti-insect activity against aphids. The compounds were identified by GC-MS as palmitic, stearic, linoleic and linolenic acids and quantified as their methyl esters....

Cryptoblabes gnidiella Milliére (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is an economically important exotic pest of vineyards in Southern Brazil and Uruguay. The sex pheromone of C. gnidiella was identified as a mixture of (Z)-11-hexadecenal and (Z)-13-octadecenal, and has been used to monitor populations of this pest in Israel. The development of mating disrupti...

Members of the family Bignoniaceae are mostly found in tropical and neo-tropical regions in America, Asia and Africa, although some of them are cultivated in other regions as ornamentals. Species belonging to this family have been extensively studied in regard to their pharmacological properties (as extracts and isolated compounds). The aim of this...

Crocidosema aporema (Walsingham) is a major pest of legumes in the southern cone of Latin America. The mating behaviour of two allopatric populations (Uruguay and Brazil) of C. aporema kept in captivity was studied by observing the posture of calling females, the temporal pattern of pheromone emission and mating, and the response of males to callin...

http://riquim.fq.edu.uy/items/show/1038

Epinotia aporema (Walsingham) is a Neotropical pest of legumes in southern South America. Its importance has increased during the last decade owing to the significant growth of soybean production in the region. Monitoring of E. aporema is difficult due to the cryptic behavior of the larvae, and hence, chemical control is carried out preventively. W...

We evaluated the anti-insectan activity of extracts from different vegetative parts of ten plant species native to Uruguay. The selected plants belong to five families: Bignoniaceae: Clytostoma callistegioides, Dolichandra cynanchoides, Macfadyena unguis-cati; Sapindaceae: Dodonaea viscosa, Allophylus edulis, Serjania meridionalis; Lamiaceae: Salvi...

Coccinellid beetles contain a variety of defensive alkaloids that render them unpalatable to predators. Epilachna paenulata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is a South American ladybird beetle that feeds on plants of the Cucurbitaceae family. The defensive chemistry of E. paenulata has been characterized as a mixture of systemic piperidine, homotropane,...

The first syntheses of two deoxythiocyanocyclitols (4-deoxy-4-thiocyano-L-chiro-inositol and deoxythiocyanoconduritol F) and two deoxysulfonylcyclitol acetals are reported by a chemoenzymatic enantioselective route. The compounds were prepared by a sequence of enzymatic and ruthenium-catalyzed dihydroxylations, and the results were studied regardin...

Allophylus edulis, commonly called 'Chal chal', is a member of the Sapindaceae occurring in the Uruguayan and Brazilian native flora. During the phytochemical analysis of two Chal chal specimens from two well-differentiated geographical zones (Assis, São Paulo, Brazil, and Santa Lucía, Canelones, Uruguay), considerable amounts of L-quebrachitol wer...

IntroductionEnemies of Insect EggsTypes of Egg DefencesChemical Defences: CantharidinChemical Defences: Pyrrolizidine AlkaloidsChemical Defences: CucurbitacinsThe Issue of PaternityWhen Defence BackfiresOther Paternal ContributionsPuddlingConcluding RemarksAcknowledgements

The head lice, Pediculus humanus capitis (Phthiraptera:Pediculidae), is an obligate ectoparasite of humans that causes pediculosis capitis, a nuisance for millions of people worldwide, with high prevalence in children. Pediculosis capitis has been treated by methods that include the physical remotion of lice, various domestic treatments and convent...

The defensive chemistry of the ladybird beetle Epilachna paenulata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) was characterized as a mixture of piperidine, homotropane and pyrrolidine alkaloids. Whole body extracts of adult beetles contain four major alkaloids: 1-(6-Methyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-pyridin-2-yl)-propan-2-one; 1-(6-methyl-2-piperidyl)-propan-2-one; 9-aza...

The opilionid Acanthopachylus aculeatus was shown to produce a defensive secretion containing quinones (2,3-dimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone, 2,5-dimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone and 2,3,5-trimethyl-1,4-benzoquinone), confirming the findings reported nearly a half century ago in a classic study. The mechanism by which the opilionid puts the secretion to use is d...

The opilionid, Parampheres ronae, has a pair of orange markings on its carapace at a location where some other opilionids discharge yellowish, quinone-containing defensive fluid. P. ronae itself produces a defensive secretion, but the fluid is quinone-free and nearly translucent. We suggest that the orange markings in P. ronae are aposematic in t...

Evidence is presented that pyrrolizidine alkaloid acquired by Utetheisa ornatrix (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae) as a larva from Crotalaria foodplants is incorporated in part into the scales of the adult. A single forewing of a male or female moth may contain in the order of 6 to 13 g monocrotaline in its scale cover or about 1 to 2% of the moths sys...

In the moth Utetheisa ornatrix defensive pyrrolizidine alkaloids are sequestered by both sexes as larvae from their foodplants. The adult male transmits some of this alkaloid to the female at mating for eventual incorporation into the eggs. We now show by chemical analyses that the female herself is the first beneficiary of the alkaloid she receive...

Females of the moth Utetheisa ornatrix (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) mate preferentially with males that excel in three quantitatively correlated attributes: body mass, systemic content of defensive pyrrolizidine alkaloid (derived from the larval diet), and glandular content of the courtship pheromone hydroxydanaidal (derived from the alkaloid). By so c...

The biotransformations of R-(+)-limonene by different enzyme systems of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Streptococcus faecalis have been investigated. The substrate was transformed to trans-carveol in 9% yield by P. aeruginosa only in the presence of H2O2. Conversely, using S. faecalis, limonene was converted into carvone and cis- and trans-carveol in a...

The earwig Doru taeniatum (Dermaptera, Forficulidae) has a pair of defensive glands, opening on the 4th abdominal tergite, from which it discharges a spray when disturbed. It aims the discharges by revolving the abdomen, a maneuver that enables it simultaneously to use its pincers in defense. The secretion contains two quinones (methyl-1,4-benzoqui...

The larva of the green lacewing (Ceraeochrysa cubana) (Neuroptera, Chrysopidae) is a natural predator of eggs of Utetheisa ornatrix (Lepidoptera, Arctiidae), a moth that sequesters pyrrolizidine alkaloids from its larval foodplant (Fabaceae, Crotalaria spp.). Utetheisa eggs are ordinarily endowed with the alkaloid. Alkaloid-free Utetheisa eggs, pro...

Epilachnene [(5Z)-11-propyl-12-azacyclotetradec-5-en-14-olide], the principal component of the secretion of the pupal defensive hairs of the Mexican bean beetle (Epilachna varivestis), has antiinsectan activity. Both the R enantiomer of epilachnene, and the S enantiomer (the natural configuration of the compound), proved deterrent in a feeding bioa...

A number of parasitoids reared from pupae of Utetheisa ornatrix, an arctiid moth that sequesters pyrrolizidine alkaloids from its larval foodplant, were analyzed chemically to see whether they sequester pyrrolizidine alkaloids from this host. None proved to do so in substantial measure. The highest alkaloid concentration detected in a parasitoid wa...

The arctiid moth Utetheisa ornatrix is protected against predation by pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) that it sequesters as a larva from its food plant. Earlier work had shown that males transmit PA to the female with the sperm package and that the female bestows part of this gift on the eggs, protecting these against predation as a result. We now sho...

A male of the tachinid fly, Archytas aterrimus, was noted to emerge from a pupa of Utetheisa ornatrix, an arctiid moth that sequesters pyrrolizidine alkaloids from its larval foodplants. Chemical analysis of the fly showed it to be free of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, indicating that it does not itself acquire the chemicals from its host. A. aterrimus...

The carabid beetle Galerita lecontei has a pair of abdominal defensive glands that secrete a mixture of formic acid, acetic acid, and lipophilic components (long-chain hydrocarbons and esters). Formic acid, at the concentration of 80%, is the principal constituent. The beetle ejects the secretion as a spray, which it aims accurately toward parts of...

The essential oils from leaves of two Uruguayan native Anacardiaceae, Schinus molle L. and Schinus lentiscifolius(L.) March., were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Sixteen compounds were identified in S. lentiscifolius and S. molle oils. Both oils were sesquiterpene hydrocarbon-rich with δ-cadinene (16.79%) and bicyclo-germacrene (29.20%) being the major...

The composition of the volatile fraction of 236 samples of genuine Uruguayan lemon oils obtained by industrial processing during the 1992 and 1993 seasons was studied by GC. The samples were representative of all production areas situated in the North and South of the country. Forty-three components were identified in the oils. The quantitative dat...