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The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points.
Peru’s Cosñipata Region in Cuzco and Madre de Dios Departments is a valley between Manu National Park and the Amarakaeri Communal Reserve that ranges from 400 to 4,000 m elevation. A team of experienced lepidopterists sampled the butterfly fauna of this valley for more than a decade (7,440 field person-hours). We analyze the data for Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea), a family for which we have taxonomic expertise. After adding data on the fauna from museums and the literature, we present an annotated checklist of the 340 Lycaenidae species recorded from the Cosñipata Region with notes for each species on the elevations and seasons at which it occurs, adult behavior, and sampled relative abundance. Species richness is twice that recorded for Trinidad or Brazil’s Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, each of which also has a mix of low, mid, and high elevation habitats. There was an average of 8.3 adult specimens per species in the fieldwork sample. For those species with more than 8 specimens, the median elevational range was 1,100 m. Species richness in low elevation habitats was greater than that at mid or high elevations, which is contrary to findings for some other Neotropical insects. We present evidence why further sampling is likely to increase this difference. Maximal adult species richness occurs during the transition from dry to wet seasons (September to November) at all elevations, but there is little evidence that adults of species occur only during this season. Sampled relative abundances were skewed so that 70% of the species were encountered less frequently than average (1/340). These results are consistent with the observation that most species are rarely encountered using standard sampling methods.
Grishinata Robbins and Busby, new genus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Eumaeini), possesses a fivesegmented foretarsus with a clawed pretarsus, a trait that differentiates it from all eumaeine genera except Theclopsis Godman and Salvin. Grishinata penny Busby, Hall, and Robbins, new species, differs from all species of Theclopsis (and most Eumaeini) in lacking male secondary sexual organs on the wings or in the abdomen. It is recorded from the eastern slope of the Andes in Ecuador and Peru. We cannot place Grishinata penny in an existing Eumaeini genus based upon its wing pattern, male foreleg structure, lack of male secondary sexual organs, and male genitalic morphology. We propose names for the genus and species to document its leg morphology and to provide a name for a genome sequencing project, which will allow us to place the genus in the eumaeine Linnaean hierarchy.
A revised annotated checklist for the butterfly family Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera) of Trinidad is presented, updating nomenclature, and indicating synonyms from earlier lists and papers. The checklist includes 131 species of Lycaenidae, comprising 127 species of 49 genera of Eumaeini, Theclinae, and four species of three genera of Polyommatinae.
There are more than 30 new island records. No lycaenid species is endemic to Trinidad, and the fauna consists primarily of widespread species (71%) that occur from Central America to the Amazon Basin. However, the primary biogeographic affi nity is the Amazon Region, where 94% of the Trinidad lycaenid fauna also occurs.
Corrections are made to the literature cited in the first author’s earlier checklists on other Trinidad butterflies.
