cockroaches anyone? Discriminating tasters The American cockroach is a denizen of the sewers. It originally hails from Africa, but was introduced to the Americas in the 1500s. Unlike...

badbobby Loc: texas

Discriminating tasters
The American cockroach is a denizen of the sewers. It originally hails from Africa, but was introduced to the Americas in the 1500s. Unlike the German cockroach, which is a major pest found almost exclusively in human dwellings, the American cockroach mostly ventures only into the basements or bottom levels of buildings, Schal said. [Photos: Insects and Spiders That May Share Your Home]

Both roaches, though, are hardy survivors, and their genes hold the keys as to why. In the new study, researcher Sheng Li of South China Normal University and colleagues found that American cockroaches have the second-largest genome of any insect ever sequenced, right behind the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), though a good 60 percent of the roach genome is made up of repetitive segments. Gene families related to taste and smell were much larger than those of other insects, and the researchers found 522 gustatory, or taste, receptors in the roach. German cockroaches are similarly well-equipped, Schal said, with 545 taste receptors.

"They need very elaborate smell and taste systems in order to avoid eating toxic stuff," Schal said.

Hardy survivors
American cockroaches also had a larger-than-average suite of genes devoted to metabolizing nasty substances, including some of the ingredients in insecticides. German cockroaches have similar adaptations, Schal said. Both species developed these genetic changes long before humans came on the scene, he said. Thanks to their tendency to live among toxin-producing bacteria and to eat plant matter that might hold toxic substances, roaches were "pre-adapted" to the insecticides that humans throw at them, Schal said.

The American cockroach also had an expanded family of immunity genes, likely another adaptation for surviving unsanitary environments and fermenting food sources, Li and colleagues wrote. Finally, the roach had a large number of genes devoted to development, like genes responsible for synthesizing the insect's juvenile hormone or the proteins in its exoskeleton. This made sense, the researchers wrote, since American cockroaches can grow up to 2 inches (53 millimeters) long and molt many times to reach that size.

A greater understanding of the cockroach genome could help researchers come up with new ways to control pest species, the researchers wrote. One example, Schal said, is the Asian cockroach (Blattella asahinai), a close relative of the pesky German cockroach that lives outdoors and doesn't bother humans much at all. It would be interesting to see if there are any differences between the Asian and German cockroach genomes that might explain why one is dependent on human-made environments and the other is not, Schal said.

"There are 5,000 described species of cockroaches, and now we have two [full] genomes," Schal said. "So we need more."

Original article on Live Science.

Y

bahmer

badbobby wrote:

Discriminating tasters
The American cockroach is a denizen of the sewers. It originally hails from Africa, but was introduced to the Americas in the 1500s. Unlike the German cockroach, which is a major pest found almost exclusively in human dwellings, the American cockroach mostly ventures only into the basements or bottom levels of buildings, Schal said. [Photos: Insects and Spiders That May Share Your Home]

Both roaches, though, are hardy survivors, and their genes hold the keys as to why. In the new study, researcher Sheng Li of South China Normal University and colleagues found that American cockroaches have the second-largest genome of any insect ever sequenced, right behind the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), though a good 60 percent of the roach genome is made up of repetitive segments. Gene families related to taste and smell were much larger than those of other insects, and the researchers found 522 gustatory, or taste, receptors in the roach. German cockroaches are similarly well-equipped, Schal said, with 545 taste receptors.

"They need very elaborate smell and taste systems in order to avoid eating toxic stuff," Schal said.

Hardy survivors
American cockroaches also had a larger-than-average suite of genes devoted to metabolizing nasty substances, including some of the ingredients in insecticides. German cockroaches have similar adaptations, Schal said. Both species developed these genetic changes long before humans came on the scene, he said. Thanks to their tendency to live among toxin-producing bacteria and to eat plant matter that might hold toxic substances, roaches were "pre-adapted" to the insecticides that humans throw at them, Schal said.

The American cockroach also had an expanded family of immunity genes, likely another adaptation for surviving unsanitary environments and fermenting food sources, Li and colleagues wrote. Finally, the roach had a large number of genes devoted to development, like genes responsible for synthesizing the insect's juvenile hormone or the proteins in its exoskeleton. This made sense, the researchers wrote, since American cockroaches can grow up to 2 inches (53 millimeters) long and molt many times to reach that size.

A greater understanding of the cockroach genome could help researchers come up with new ways to control pest species, the researchers wrote. One example, Schal said, is the Asian cockroach (Blattella asahinai), a close relative of the pesky German cockroach that lives outdoors and doesn't bother humans much at all. It would be interesting to see if there are any differences between the Asian and German cockroach genomes that might explain why one is dependent on human-made environments and the other is not, Schal said.

"There are 5,000 described species of cockroaches, and now we have two [full] genomes," Schal said. "So we need more."

Original article on Live Science.

Y

Discriminating tasters br The American cockroach i... (show quote)

Are cockroaches anything at all like democrats, or even dastardly Marines?

badbobby Loc: texas

bahmer wrote:

Are cockroaches anything at all like democrats, or even dastardly Marines?

first cousins

bahmer

badbobby wrote:

first cousins

Excellent.

Oldsailor65 Loc: Iowa

bahmer wrote:

Are cockroaches anything at all like democrats, or even dastardly Marines?

**************************************************
Democrats are the results of cross breeding between cock roaches and the slimy hag fish.
I am guessing that the cock roach was the male of that session proof of this is -----
just look at the so called female liberal politicians-- anyone who would breed with them would (***k) anything.

bahmer

Oldsailor65 wrote:

**************************************************
Democrats are the results of cross breeding between cock roaches and the slimy hag fish.
I am guessing that the cock roach was the male of that session proof of this is -----
just look at the so called female liberal politicians-- anyone who would breed with them would (***k) anything.

We haven't really determined if that Obama picture is really a female or a trans gender have we? Oh well it would be ugly either way not to worry.

Oldsailor65 Loc: Iowa

badbobby wrote:

Discriminating tasters
The American cockroach is a denizen of the sewers. It originally hails from Africa, but was introduced to the Americas in the 1500s. Unlike the German cockroach, which is a major pest found almost exclusively in human dwellings, the American cockroach mostly ventures only into the basements or bottom levels of buildings, Schal said. [Photos: Insects and Spiders That May Share Your Home]

Both roaches, though, are hardy survivors, and their genes hold the keys as to why. In the new study, researcher Sheng Li of South China Normal University and colleagues found that American cockroaches have the second-largest genome of any insect ever sequenced, right behind the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), though a good 60 percent of the roach genome is made up of repetitive segments. Gene families related to taste and smell were much larger than those of other insects, and the researchers found 522 gustatory, or taste, receptors in the roach. German cockroaches are similarly well-equipped, Schal said, with 545 taste receptors.

"They need very elaborate smell and taste systems in order to avoid eating toxic stuff," Schal said.

Hardy survivors
American cockroaches also had a larger-than-average suite of genes devoted to metabolizing nasty substances, including some of the ingredients in insecticides. German cockroaches have similar adaptations, Schal said. Both species developed these genetic changes long before humans came on the scene, he said. Thanks to their tendency to live among toxin-producing bacteria and to eat plant matter that might hold toxic substances, roaches were "pre-adapted" to the insecticides that humans throw at them, Schal said.

The American cockroach also had an expanded family of immunity genes, likely another adaptation for surviving unsanitary environments and fermenting food sources, Li and colleagues wrote. Finally, the roach had a large number of genes devoted to development, like genes responsible for synthesizing the insect's juvenile hormone or the proteins in its exoskeleton. This made sense, the researchers wrote, since American cockroaches can grow up to 2 inches (53 millimeters) long and molt many times to reach that size.

A greater understanding of the cockroach genome could help researchers come up with new ways to control pest species, the researchers wrote. One example, Schal said, is the Asian cockroach (Blattella asahinai), a close relative of the pesky German cockroach that lives outdoors and doesn't bother humans much at all. It would be interesting to see if there are any differences between the Asian and German cockroach genomes that might explain why one is dependent on human-made environments and the other is not, Schal said.

"There are 5,000 described species of cockroaches, and now we have two [full] genomes," Schal said. "So we need more."

Original article on Live Science.

Y

Discriminating tasters br The American cockroach i... (show quote)

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Chinese cockroach farmers are making a bundle selling pulverized bugs for $89 per lb.

It turns out China has a booming trade in cockroaches that can earn as much as 1200 yuan per kilogram, or $89 per pound. The roaring roach trade began when a Yunnan medical professor noticed elderly ethnic minorities in the area’s mountains pulverizing roaches to cure bone tuberculosis. It took more than a decade of research, but he eventually figured out what they were up to, patenting roach powder as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) ingredient and cooperating with what’s now perhaps the biggest world’s biggest producer of medicinal raw cockroach-related materials. The powder is used to treat cirrhosis, breast cancer and other ailments, and reputedly also has anti-aging effects (links in Chinese).

https://qz.com/118767/chinese-cockroach-farmers-are-making-a-bundle-selling-pulverized-bugs-for-89-per-lb/