Gordana Glavan

• Professor at University of Ljubljana

Environmental negotiations are complex, and conveying the interaction between science and policy in traditional teaching methods is challenging. To address this issue, innovative educational approaches like serious gaming and role-playing games have emerged. These methods allow students to actively explore the roles of different stakeholders in env...

The butterfly fauna of Armenia has, in general, been well documented but there is very little published information regarding the precise locations of individual butterfly species. Consequently, we aimed to cover as wide an area as possible during our surveys of the country. During three separate visits undertaken between 2017 and 2021, we surveyed...

Honey bees are important plant pollinators and honey producers. Contamination of the environment with metals can lead to a decline in honey bee populations. Copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) salts are commonly used as fungicides and foliar fertilizers. In this study, we investigated the effects of 10-day chronic oral exposure to different concentrations of...

Svilaja is a 30 km-long mountain range in the Outer Dinarides in the hinterland of northern Dalmatia, between the rivers Cetina and Čikola. It has never been the target of systematic butterfly surveys and its fauna remained completely unknown. During our surveys from 2019 to 2022, we recorded 112 butterfly species at 37 sites. The butterfly richnes...

Simple Summary A decline in the number and diversity of pollinators has been observed worldwide. Various butterfly species are also threatened by extinction. One of the less studied reasons for the pollinator decline are pathogens, although it is known that they can be transmitted between cultivated and some wild pollinator species. The objective o...

Based on available literature sources, review of museum collections and own field studies, 121 species of butterflies have been recorded in the municipality of Kamnik to date, which ranks it among the richest in Slovenia. Among them, there are 17 species that were last observed only in the last century and for the most part we can assume that they...

Aegerolysin proteins ostreolysin A6 (OlyA6), pleurotolysin A2 (PlyA2) and erylysin A (EryA) produced by the mushroom genus Pleurotus bind strongly to an invertebrate-specific membrane sphingolipid, and together with a protein partner pleurotolysin B (PlyB), form transmembrane pore complexes. This pore formation is the basis for the selective insect...

Mosor is a small mountain massif situated in central Dalmatia, above the cities of Split and Omiš. It was never a target of any systematic butterfly surveys, with its fauna remaining almost completely unknown. During our surveys from 2011 to 2020, we recorded 96 butterfly species at 60 localities. With the literature record of Polyommatus ripartii,...

Chestnut honey is well-described in terms of sensory properties, pollen and chemical composition. Specific bitter taste is accompanied with other typical sensory properties derived from its chemical composition, especially in the nectar of sweet chestnut. Compounds from other sources of nectar and honeydew, especially linden, fir and spruce, with s...

Neuroinflammation is an important factor in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. Microglia-derived lysosomal cathepsins have been increasingly recognized as important inflammatory mediators that trigger signaling pathways that aggravate neuroinflammation. In vitro, a contribution to neuroinflammation processes has been shown for cathepsi...

The parasitic mite Varroa destructor is a threat to beekeeping colonies. Among naturally derived acaricides, the monoterpenoid essential oil compound thymol is used in beekeeping for varroa mite control, but adverse impacts on honeybees has been already documented. Carvacrol, another monoterpenoid, also has a high acaricidal potential and could thu...

Organophosphate insecticides are known to inhibit the activity of enzyme acetylcholinesterase. They affect olfactory learning and memory formation in honeybees. These insecticides cause mushroom body inactivation in honeybees, but their influence on other brain regions involved in olfactory perception and memory is unknown. The goal of this study w...

Mt Kozjak is an elongated mountain ridge situated in central Dalmatia, just above the Riviera of Kaštela near Split. It was well surveyed a century ago by Hermann Stauder who recorded 38 butterfly species. Among these, Papilio alexanor was the most prominent discovery. During our surveys from 2007 to 2018, we recorded 82 butterfly species at 19 loc...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder with unknown cause, but it has been postulated that chronic neuroinflammation may play a role in its pathogenesis. Microglia-derived lysosomal cathepsins have been increasingly recognized as important inflammatory mediators. Here, we analyzed the regional distribution and cellular...

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). In vitro, a contribution to neuroinflammation and neurotoxicity has been shown for the lysosomal protease cathepsin X; however, its expression and its role in PD remain unknown. Therefore, the...

Organophosphate pesticide diazinon is a specific inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), which is a common neurotoxicity biomarker in environmental studies. In honeybees, AChE exists in two forms having different physiological roles, one existing as a soluble form and the other as membrane-bound. In most studies AChE activity has been analysed wi...

Varoja (Varroa destructor) je pomemben dejavnik umiranja čebel, zato njeno učinkovito zatiranje predstavlja enega izmed osrednjih problemov čebelarjenja. Trenutno čebelarji za zatiranje varoje največ uporabljajo sintetične akaricide. Zaradi njihovih negativnih učinkov na čebele ter kemičnih ostankov v čebeljih pridelkih je velik trend k vzpodbujanj...

Varroa destructor is one of the most common parasites of honey bee colonies and is considered as a possible co-factor for honey bee decline. At the same time, the use of pesticides in intensive agriculture is still the most effective method of pest control. There is limited information about the effects of pesticide exposure on parasitized honey be...

Primers used for detection of honey bee pathogens. (DOCX)

Deformed wings virus RNA loads in white- and brown-eyed pupae. Box-plots represents qPCR treshold cycle (CT) values for pathogen loads for different treatments in white-eyed (WE) and brown-eyed (BE) pupae. Treatments: control; thiamethoxam (Thia); Varroa; thiamethoxam and Varroa (Varroa and Thia). In each group (white-eyed pupae and brown-eyed pupa...

Experimental honey bee groups. (DOCX)

Heatmap analysis of the differences in the mean expression of each gene between Varroa infested and Varroa infested—thiamethoxam treated group. WE pupae, white-eyed pupae; BE pupae, brown-eyed pupae. The colors indicate the average mRNA levels in Varroa infested—thiamethoxam treated group compared to average levels of mRNA in Varroa infested group:...

High annual production and use of cerium (IV) oxide nanoparticles (nCeO2) may lead to their atmospheric release and substantial deposition on plants. This poses potential threat to pollinators. We investigated the effects of nCeO2 spiked food (2-500 mgL⁻¹) on summer and winter honeybees Apis melifera carnica after chronic 9 days oral exposure. Acet...

The extensive production of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanomaterials (NMs) may result in high environmental zinc burdens. Honeybees need to have special concern due to their crucial role in pollination. Our previous study indicated that low concentrations of ZnO NMs, corresponding to 0.8 mg Zn/mL, have a neurotoxic potential for honeybees after a 10-day oral...

Synaptotagmin 7 (SYT7) is ubiquitously expressed calcium sensor, involved in neuronal membrane trafficking. Immunoprecipitation experiments demonstrated that SYT7 interacts with Synaptotagmin-binding, cytoplasmic RNA-interacting protein (SYNCRIP). SYNCRIP is a component of mRNA granules, which are transported to dendrites and are prerequisite for s...

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are important pollinators threatened by environmental pollution, plan protection products and other potential contaminants. Due to an extensive predicted use of engineered nanomaterials (NMs) in agriculture the impact on honeybees should be investigated. We studied the 10-days chronic dietary effect of carbon black (CB) a...

Synaptotagmin-IV may function as a regulator of Ca2+-dependent synaptic transmission. In hemi-parkinsonian rats with unilateral lesions of dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons, synaptotagmin-IV and substance-P mRNAs could be up-regulated within the dopaminergically hypersensitive striatum of the lesioned brain hemisphere via the stimulation of striat...

The mainland of northern Dalmatia has been surprisingly omitted from recent faunistic studies of butterfly fauna in the Croatian coastal region. In order to fill this gap we summarized our observations made in the regionduring the last two decades. Altogether 81 species were recorded, including several rare and potentially threatened species. Among...

STAM2 (signal transducing adaptor molecule 2), a subunit of the ESCRT-0 complex, is an endosomal protein acting as a regulator of receptor signaling and trafficking. To analyze STAM2 in the nervous system, its gene expression and protein localization in the mouse brain were identified using three methods: mRNA in situ hybridization, immunohistochem...

Aim To investigate the involvement of the vesicular membrane trafficking regulator Synaptotagmin IV (Syt IV) in Alzheimer’s disease pathogenesis and to define the cell types containing increased levels of Syt IV in the β-amyloid plaque vicinity. Methods Syt IV protein levels in wild type (WT) and Tg2576 mice cortex were determined by Western blot...

During foraging activities honeybees are frequently exposed to different xenobiotics, most of them are agrochemical pesticides and beehive chemicals. Many pesticides are applied together and synergism is likely to occur in different organisms. The risk of synergisms is neglected and relatively few studies were performed concerning the effects and s...

γ-Enolase is a neurotrophic-like factor promoting growth, differentiation, survival and regeneration of neurons. Its neurotrophic activity is regulated by cysteine protease cathepsin X which cleaves the C-terminal end of the molecule. We have investigated the expression and co-localization of γ-enolase and cathepsin X in brains of Tg2576 mice overe...

During foraging activities honeybees are frequently exposed to different xenobiotics, most of them are agrochemical pesticides and beehive chemicals. Many pesticides are applied together and synergism is likely to occur in different organisms. The risk of synergisms is neglected and relatively few studies were performed concerning the effects and s...

Previous studies in rat models of neurodegenerative disorders have shown disregulation of striatal synaptotagmin7 mRNA. Here we explored the expression of synaptotagmin7 mRNA in the brains of rats with seizures triggered by the glutamatergic agonist kainate (10 mg/kg) or by the muscarinic agonist pilocarpine (30 mg/kg) in LiCl (3 mEq/kg) pre-treate...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) form a large class of non-coding RNAs that function in repression of gene expression in eukaryotes. By recognizing short stretches of nucleotides within the untranslated regions of mRNAs, miRNAs recruit partner proteins to individual transcripts, leading to mRNA cleavage or hindering of translation. Bioinformatic predictions and...

Synaptotagmins (Syts) are transmembrane proteins involved in the regulation of membrane trafficking. Here, we summarize literature data that provide growing evidence that several Syts are involved in the pathophysiological mechanisms of temporal lobe epilepsy and Parkinson's disease, as well as few reports related to brain ischemia and Alzheimer's...

Long-term use of L-DOPA in Parkinson's disease (PD) is frequently associated with side effects that are reflected in changed neurotransmitter/neuropeptide secretion in basal ganglia. These side effects could be connected with synaptotagmins (syts) because syts are involved in regulation of membrane trafficking. We have previously reported that acut...

Motor complications after chronic l-DOPA treatment in patients with Parkinson's disease may be caused by the fluctuations of l-DOPA availability in the brain that provokes the sensitization of striatal output neurons of dopamine-depleted striatum. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of intermittent l-DOPA/carbidopa treatment schedule (...

Synaptotagmin 7 (Syt 7) is a Ca2+ sensor implicated in the regulation of membrane fusion in vesicular transport, but its precise role in neurons is still a matter of controversy. Dopaminergic drugs have been shown to modulate its expression in the striatum. Here we investigate whether dopamine receptor agonist-up-regulation of Syt 7 mRNA is specifi...

Synaptotagmin IV is a product of immediate early-response gene. It is involved in the regulated neurosecretion in the brain. Its putative role, however, in vesicular transport and localization in secretor y vesicles is still a matter of debate. Here we followed the spatiotemporal pattern of synaptotagmin IV protein upregulation in the hippocampus,...

Synaptotagmins (Syts) constitute a multi-gene family of 15 putative membrane trafficking proteins. The expression of some of the Syts in the brain might be dopaminergically controlled and thus affected by dopamine depletion in Parkinson’s disease. We used hemiparkinsonian rats to investigate the effects of chronic striatal dopamine depletion and th...

Parkinsonism, a common unwanted side effect of typical antipsychotic (neuroleptic) drugs, is induced by the blockade of striatal dopamine D2 receptors. In rats with hemi-parkinsonism induced by unilateral lesion of dopaminergic nigrostriatal neurons with 6-hydroxydopamine, D2 antagonists inhibit contralateral turning induced by D2 agonists and augm...

Synaptotagmins (Syts) I and IV are synaptic proteins involved in the regulation of neurosecretion. Dopaminergic drugs have been shown to modulate their expression. Here we investigate whether dopaminergic regulation of syt I and syt IV expression could play a role in the hypersensitive striatum of rats with unilateral lesions of dopaminergic nigros...