1. The Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia L.) has a small population (Ne ∼ 100) on the small island of Pikku Tytärsaari (PT) in the Gulf of Finland. The population has remained completely isolated for ∼100 generations, which has resulted in greatly reduced genetic variation and high genetic load (low fitness). In particular, females lay small egg clutches with a low egg‐hatching rate

The adsorption behaviour of three food proteins, a soy protein isolate, a sodium casein‐ate and a whey protein concentrate, at the air‐water interface has been studied by the drop volume method. The kinetics of surface tension decay were evaluated in terms of different rate‐determining steps at different ionic strengths and concentrations. This analysis indicates the following characteristics conc

Protein stabilised emulsions have been prepared in a valve homogeniser incorporated into a recirculating emulsification system, where the power input and number of passes have been varied. The food proteins studied were a soy‐bean protein isolate, a whey protein concentrate (WPC) and a sodium caseinate. The emulsions obtained were characterized in terms of particle size distribution and amount of

The maternally transmitted bacterium Wolbachia pipientis is well known for spreading and persisting in insect populations through manipulation of the fitness of its host. Here, we identify three new Wolbachia pipientis strains, wHho, wHho2 and wHho3, infecting Hyposoter horticola, a specialist wasp parasitoid of the Glanville fritillary butterfly. The wHho strain (ST435) infects about 50% of the i

The success of maternally transmitted endosymbiotic bacteria, such as Wolbachia, is directly linked to their host reproduction but in direct conflict with other parasites that kill the host before it reaches reproductive maturity. Therefore, symbionts that have evolved strategies to increase their host’s ability to evade lethal parasites may have high penetrance, while detrimental symbionts would

The emulsifying properties of proteins have been a subject concern for those dealing with functional properties of proteins. The studies so far have been restricted to two main approaches: emulsifying capacity and emulsion stability measurements. The former measures the maximum oil addition until inversion or phase separation of the emulsion occurs, whereas the latter measures the ability of the e

BackgroundAdaptation to local habitat conditions may lead to the natural divergence of populations in life-history traits such as body size, time of reproduction, mate signaling or dispersal capacity. Given enough time and strong enough selection pressures, populations may experience local genetic differentiation. The genetic basis of many life-history traits, and their evolution according to diff

In butterflies, male reproductive success is highly related to the quality and the size of the spermatophore transferred to the female. The spermatophore is a capsule produced by the male during copulation, which in many species contains sperm in addition to a nuptial gift, and which is digested by the female after copulation. The nuptial gift may contribute to egg production and offspring quality

Bicyclusbutterflies are key species for studies ofwing pattern development, phenotypic plasticity, speciationand the genetics of Lepidoptera. One of the key endosymbi-onts in butterflies, the alpha-ProteobacteriumWolbachiapipientis, is affecting many of these biological processes;however, Bicyclusbutterflies have not been investigated sys-tematically as hosts toWolbachia.Inthisstudy,wescreenforWo

The Lepidoptera is one of the most widespread and recognisable insect orders. Due to their remarkable diversity, economic and ecological importance, moths and butterflies have been studied extensively over the last 200 years. More recently, the relationship between Lepidoptera and their heritable microbial endosymbionts has received increasing attention. Heritable endosymbionts reside within the h

Protein stabilized emulsions made up of 40% soybean oil by weight and protein dispersions of 2.5% (w/w) protein content have been prepared in an ultrasonic device. The emulsifying apparatus was incorporated into a recirculating system, where power input and number of passes were varied. The food proteins studied were a soy bean protein isolate, a whey protein concentrate (WPC), and a sodium casein

All organisms are challenged by encounters with parasites, which strongly select for efficient escape strategies in the host. The threat is especially high for gregarious species entering immobile periods, such as diapause. Larvae of the Glanville fritillary butterfly, Melitaea cinxia, spend the winter in diapause in groups of conspecifics each sheltered in a silk-nest. Despite intensive monitorin

A new approach to prepare W/O/W-double emulsions is described. The inner W/O-phase is composed of a thermodynamically stable micellar solution of inverse type, an L2-phase. A protein, caseinate, is then used to stabilize the dispersion of this phase in water. Release from the inner to the outer water phase was followed by dialysis. Phase equilibria of the two ternary systems monolaurin-water-soybe

In the drop volume method the surface of the drop enlarges throughout the process of the interfacial tension decay. This surface expansion has been measured for drops of various sizes and shapes, where the interfacial tension depression was caused by different proteins such as lysozyme, β-lactoglobulin, bovine serum albumin, sodium caseinate, whey protein concentrate and soy protein isolate at dif