Nobuko Tuno | Kanazawa University (original) (raw)

Papers by Nobuko Tuno

The mosquitoAedes albopictustransmits human viruses including dengue and chikungunya and is an ex... more The mosquitoAedes albopictustransmits human viruses including dengue and chikungunya and is an extremely successful invasive species expanding into new regions of the world. New tools are needed to complement existing tools to help monitor and control this species. Genomic resources are improving for this species including genome reference sequences, and whole genome sequencing data will help to catalog genetic diversity in this species and further enable genetic analysis. We collected populations ofAe. albopictusfrom throughout its distribution and generated whole genome sequencing data from population samples. These data will be used to address a number of basic and applied questions for this species. Here, we show genetic differentiation patterns among the tropical and temperate forms, as well as finer scale genetic clustering at the regional and population scale. These data and results will be a valuable resource for further study and tool development for this species.

Medical Entomology and Zoology, 2001

Medical Entomology and Zoology, 2004

Medical entomology and zoology, Apr 4, 2001

Medical and Veterinary Entomology, Sep 1, 2002

The use of the cyclopoid copepods Macrocyclops distinctus (Richard) Megacyclops viridis (Jurine) ... more The use of the cyclopoid copepods Macrocyclops distinctus (Richard) Megacyclops viridis (Jurine) and Mesocyclops pehpeiensis Hu (Cyclopoida: Cyclopidae) as biological control agents against the dengue vector Aedes albopictus (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae) was evaluated. In the laboratory their predatory ability was highest against the younger instars of Ae. albopictus and none of the three copepods killed the fourth instar. Except for M. viridis, predatory ability was affected by the size of the container: the smaller the container, the higher the predation. A 4-month field test was conducted to examine the impact of these predators on wild Ae. albopictus. Thirty artificial containers were placed in a peridomestic area to allow Ae. albopictus colonization. We showed continuous and similar oviposition responses in treated and control containers. The densities of Ae. albopictus showed considerable short-term changes and were much reduced by the copepod species. Macrocyclops and the mixture of all three provided better Ae. albopictus control than either Megacyclops or Mesocyclops alone. When larval densities peaked in the control containers in August and September, the overall reduction due to the copepods was nearly complete. Mesocyclops inoculated alone had the highest population survival. However, the growth and survival of all the copepod species was poor when the three genera were mixed. Based on their performance and survival in the trial, Macrocyclops and Mesocyclops merit consideration as bio-control agents of Ae. albopictus.

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Oct 24, 2022

Myco-talpology is the science of mushrooms and talpid moles based on our discovery in 1976 that u... more Myco-talpology is the science of mushrooms and talpid moles based on our discovery in 1976 that underground mole nests can be located by the aboveground fruiting of the agarics Hebeloma danicum or Hebeloma sagarae, a Japanese sibling species of European Hebeloma radicosum. Hyphae of these mushrooms specifically colonise mole latrines near nests, forming ectomycorrhizas with the roots of their host trees. By this process, the hyphae and roots absorb, transform, and translocate the nutrients from mole excretions, cleaning the mole's habitat. The mushrooms fruit on the ground with thick root-like tissue stretching up from the ectomycorrhizas. The presence of the fruit bodies serves as the only indicator for underground mole nests, enabling us to provide novel insights into mole ecology. We excavated 74 H. sagarae or H. danicum sites in Japan and 13 H. radicosum sites in Europe and identified the nesting species. These investigations provided new perspectives on latrine making, nest structure, breeding and nestlings, the neighbouring presence of different Talpini species, and longterm nesting at the same site with inhabitant changes. Moreover, they suggested that a tripartite habitat-cleaning symbiosis among moles, mushrooms, and mushroom-host trees in the latrine must have existed for a long time in Japanese and European forests. While moles are traditionally considered inhabitants of open areas, their special relationship with mushrooms and trees suggests they may originally be forest inhabitants.

Medical entomology and zoology, Apr 1, 1999

Ecology and Evolution, Feb 1, 2022

Slugs are important consumers of fungal fruiting bodies and expected to carry their spores. In th... more Slugs are important consumers of fungal fruiting bodies and expected to carry their spores. In this study, we examined whether slugs (Meghimatium fruhstorferi) can act as effective dispersers of spores of basidiomycetes. The microscopic observation confirmed the presence of basidiospores in feces of field‐collected slugs, and the DNA metabarcoding study revealed that Ascomycota and Basidiomycota were major fungal taxa found in the feces. In Basidiomycota, the dominant order was Agaricales followed by Trichosporonales and Hymenochaetales. The laboratory experiments using Tylopilus vinosobrunneus showed that slugs carried a large number of spores in their digestive tracts. It was also observed that Pleurotus, Armillaria, and Gymnopilus spores excreted by slugs had a higher germination capacity than control spores collected from spore prints. The field experiments showed that slugs traveled 10.3 m in 5 h at most by wandering on the ground, litter layers, wood debris, and tree trunks. These results suggest that slugs could carry spores of ectomycorrhizal, saprophytic, and wood‐decaying fungi to appropriate sites for these fungi to establish colonies.

Journal of Medical Entomology, Oct 5, 2019

The Asian mosquitoes, Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald), have inv... more The Asian mosquitoes, Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald), have invaded North America, Europe, and other regions since the late 20th century. In invasive ranges, Ae. albopictus has well been recognized as urban, domestic species, whereas views about the macrohabitats of Ae. j. japonicus are inconsistent. Previous reports in Japan suggest the disappearance of Ae. j. japonicus from metropolises. However, container-mosquito larvae have not been inspected simultaneously for various macro and microhabitats in metropolises in Japan. The current study in Fukuoka City, a metropolis in southwest Japan, confirmed the absence of Ae. j. japonicus irrespective of macrohabitats (temples with graveyards, shrines, public graveyards, cultivated bamboo groves, and urban forests, all within the area densely inhabited by humans) and microhabitats (container types). In contrast, Ae. albopictus was dominant throughout the macro and microhabitats except forest tree holes rich with competitive species. Past records indicate the disappearance of Ae. j. japonicus from metropolitan Fukuoka within the last 70 yr. Based on careful examination of available evidence, we concluded that 1) both species benefit from human-made environments with artificial containers free from competitors, 2) Ae. j. japonicus disappeared due to hot, dry summer conditions facilitated by urban heat-island effects and a decrease in favored mammal hosts, and 3) Ae. albopictus has proliferated with higher tolerance to hot, dry climate and a wider blood-feeding host-range including humans. This difference is important for efficient control of each species as well as predicting and preventing the expansion into new distribution ranges.

Medical Entomology and Zoology, 2000