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Kaczmarek A, Boguś M. The metabolism and role of free fatty acids in key physiological processes in insects of medical, veterinary and forensic importance. PeerJ 2021; 9:e12563. [PMID: 35036124 PMCID: PMC8710053 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Insects are the most widespread group of organisms and more than one million species have been described. These animals have significant ecological functions, for example they are pollinators of many types of plants. However, they also have direct influence on human life in different manners. They have high medical and veterinary significance, stemming from their role as vectors of disease and infection of wounds and necrotic tissue; they are also plant pests, parasitoids and predators whose activities can influence agriculture. In addition, their use in medical treatments, such as maggot therapy of gangrene and wounds, has grown considerably. They also have many uses in forensic science to determine the minimum post-mortem interval and provide valuable information about the movement of the body, cause of the death, drug use, or poisoning. It has also been proposed that they may be used as model organisms to replace mammal systems in research. The present review describes the role of free fatty acids (FFAs) in key physiological processes in insects. By focusing on insects of medical, veterinary significance, we have limited our description of the physiological processes to those most important from the point of view of insect control; the study examines their effects on insect reproduction and resistance to the adverse effects of abiotic (low temperature) and biotic (pathogens) factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agata Kaczmarek
- Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Mieczysława Boguś
- Witold Stefański Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
- Biomibo, Warsaw, Poland
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Modulation of fatty acid elongation in cockroaches sustains sexually dimorphic hydrocarbons and female attractiveness. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001330. [PMID: 34314414 PMCID: PMC8315507 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) serve as important intersexual signaling chemicals and generally show variation between the sexes, but little is known about the generation of sexually dimorphic hydrocarbons (SDHCs) in insects. In this study, we report the molecular mechanism and biological significance that underlie the generation of SDHC in the German cockroach Blattella germanica. Sexually mature females possess more C29 CHCs, especially the contact sex pheromone precursor 3,11-DimeC29. RNA interference (RNAi) screen against the fatty acid elongase family members combined with heterologous expression of the genes in yeast revealed that both BgElo12 and BgElo24 were involved in hydrocarbon (HC) production, but BgElo24 is of wide catalytic activities and is able to provide substrates for BgElo12, and only the female-enriched BgElo12 is responsible for sustaining female-specific HC profile. Repressing BgElo12 masculinized the female CHC profile, decreased contact sex pheromone level, and consequently reduced the sexual attractiveness of female cockroaches. Moreover, the asymmetric expression of BgElo12 between the sexes is modulated by sex differentiation cascade. Specifically, male-specific BgDsx represses the transcription of BgElo12 in males, while BgTra is able to remove this effect in females. Our study reveals a novel molecular mechanism responsible for the formation of SDHCs and also provide evidences on shaping of the SDHCs by sexual selection, as females use them to generate high levels of contact sex pheromone. Sexual dimorphism of body waxes is prevalent in insects; this study reveals that the sex-differentiation pathway regulates fatty acid elongation, ensuring production of the sexually dimorphic cuticular hydrocarbons needed for high levels of sex pheromone and sexual attractiveness in female cockroaches.
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Pei XJ, Chen N, Bai Y, Qiao JW, Li S, Fan YL, Liu TX. BgFas1: A fatty acid synthase gene required for both hydrocarbon and cuticular fatty acid biosynthesis in the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.). INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2019; 112:103203. [PMID: 31425851 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2019.103203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2019] [Revised: 07/29/2019] [Accepted: 08/03/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Insect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), the evolutionary products of aquatic hexapod ancestors expanding to terrestrial environment, are deposited on the surface of insect integument and originally functioned primarily as waterproofing agents. CHCs are derived from the conserved fatty acid synthesis pathway in insects. However, the pivotal fatty acid synthase (FAS) involved in hydrocarbon (HC) biosynthesis remains unknown in many insect orders including the primitive Blattodea. Here, we investigated functional FAS genes that modulate cuticular lipid biogenesis in the German cockroach, Blattella germanica (L.). Based on our full-length transcriptomic data and the available genomic data, seven FAS genes (BgFas1-7) were identified from B. germanica. Tissue-specific expression analysis revealed that BgFas1, BgFas3, BgFas4 and BgFas7 were highly expressed in the integument, whereas BgFas2 was dominantly expressed in the fat body. BgFas5/6 mRNA was almost negligible in the tested tissues. Systemic RNAi screen was performed against BgFas1-7, we found that only RNAi knockdown of BgFas1 caused a dramatic reduction of methyl-branched HCs (mbHCs) and a slight decrease of straight-chain HCs (scHCs) for both internal and external HCs. Significant reduction of cuticular free fatty acids (cFFAs) was also detected within BgFas1-repressed cockroaches, while repression of CYP4G19 resulted in dramatic increase of cFFAs. Moreover, we found that BgFas1 mRNA levels were correlated with insect molting cycles, and could be induced by long-term mild dryness treatment. Furthermore, desiccation assay revealed that BgFas1 suppression accelerated water loss and led to early death of cockroaches under desiccation. Our results indicate that BgFas1 is necessary for both HC and cFFA biosynthesis in B. germanica. In addition, our study also confirms that cuticular lipids, particularly mbCHCs, are critical for desiccation resistance in B. germanica.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Jin Pei
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas and Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, PR China.
| | - Nan Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas and Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology and Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
| | - Yu Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas and Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, PR China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology and Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
| | - Jian-Wen Qiao
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas and Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, PR China.
| | - Sheng Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology and Institute of Insect Science and Technology, School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China.
| | - Yong-Liang Fan
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas and Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
| | - Tong-Xian Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Biology for Arid Areas and Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Northwestern Loess Plateau, Ministry of Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi, 712100, PR China.
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Yew JY, Chung H. Insect pheromones: An overview of function, form, and discovery. Prog Lipid Res 2015; 59:88-105. [DOI: 10.1016/j.plipres.2015.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2013] [Revised: 05/01/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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Tsutsui ND. Dissecting ant recognition systems in the age of genomics. Biol Lett 2013; 9:20130416. [PMID: 24132093 PMCID: PMC3871338 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2013] [Accepted: 09/20/2013] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Hamilton is probably best known for his seminal work demonstrating the role of kin selection in social evolution. His work made it clear that, for individuals to direct their altruistic behaviours towards appropriate recipients (kin), mechanisms must exist for kin recognition. In the social insects, colonies are typically comprised of kin, and colony recognition cues are used as proxies for kinship cues. Recent years have brought rapid advances in our understanding of the genetic and molecular mechanisms that are used for this process. Here, I review some of the most notable advances, particularly the contributions from recent ant genome sequences and molecular biology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil D. Tsutsui
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3114, USA
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Lommelen E, Johnson CA, Drijfhout FP, Billen J, Wenseleers T, Gobin B. Cuticular Hydrocarbons Provide Reliable Cues of Fertility in the Ant Gnamptogenys striatula. J Chem Ecol 2006; 32:2023-34. [PMID: 16902821 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-006-9126-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2006] [Revised: 02/21/2006] [Accepted: 04/06/2006] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
In ca. 150 species of queenless ants, a specialized queen caste is rare or absent, and mated workers take over the role of the queen in some or all of the colonies. Previously, it has been shown that reproduction in queenless ants is regulated by a combination of dominance behavior and chemical fertility signaling. It is unknown, however, whether chemical signals alone can sufficiently regulate reproduction. To investigate this possibility, we studied reproductive regulation in the facultatively queenless ant Gnamptogenys striatula, a species where dominance behavior is rare or absent. Active egg layers and infertile workers showed qualitative and quantitative differences in their cuticular hydrocarbon profile. Five long-chain methyl alkanes, 3,13- and 3,15-dimethyl pentriacontane, 3,13- and 3,15-dimethyl heptentriacontane, and 3,11,15-trimethyl heptentriacontane occurred only on the cuticles of virgin and mated egg layers. Pronounced quantitative differences were found in a further 27 alkenes; alkanes; and mono-, di-, and trimethyl alkanes. Workers that had recently stopped laying eggs had profiles similar to infertile workers, and mating status did not affect this chemical pattern. We conclude that the cuticular hydrocarbon profiles of G. striatula workers provide reliable information about their current fertility. In the interest of colony productivity, this allows reproduction to be regulated without the use of aggression.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Lommelen
- Zoological Institute, Catholic University of Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium.
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Marican C, Duportets L, Birman S, Jallon JM. Female-specific regulation of cuticular hydrocarbon biosynthesis by dopamine in Drosophila melanogaster. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2004; 34:823-830. [PMID: 15262286 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2004.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2004] [Revised: 05/07/2004] [Accepted: 05/12/2004] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
The role of dopamine (DA) is investigated in cuticular hydrocarbon biosynthesis in Drosophila melanogaster with three different approaches: use of DA-deficient mutants (dopa decarboxylase temperature sensitive mutants reared at restrictive temperature, and rescued by dopamine ingestion or by pale mutants partially rescued by a tyrosine hydroxylase construction), pharmacological treatments (tyrosine hydroxylase inhibitors) and topical application on decapitated flies. We report that DA specifically regulates diene hydrocarbon biosynthesis, which is female specific. Our results suggest that DA acts in adult flies within the first hours of imaginal life and that DA production from the brain is crucial for this process. Thus, DA contributes to reproduction in D. melanogaster by acting during a critical period during development of young adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Marican
- Laboratoire NAMC UMR 8620, Université Paris-Sud, Neurobiologie et Apprentissage de la Mémoire et de la Communication, rue Georges Clemenceau, 91405 Orsay, France
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Sledge MF, Trinca I, Massolo A, Boscaro F, Turillazzi S. Variation in cuticular hydrocarbon signatures, hormonal correlates and establishment of reproductive dominance in a polistine wasp. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2004; 50:73-83. [PMID: 15037095 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2003.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2003] [Revised: 09/30/2003] [Accepted: 10/01/2003] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
In many social insects the relationship between reproductive dominance and physiological correlates is poorly understood. Recent evidence now strongly suggests that cuticular hydrocarbons are important in reproductive differentiation in these societies where they are used as signals of ovarian activity in reproductive females. In this study we investigated the relationship between reproductive dominance, size of the corpora allata (CA, producer of Juvenile Hormone, JH) and the proportions of cuticular hydrocarbons present on the cuticle in overwintering foundresses and both associative (polygynous) and solitary (monogynous) pre-emergence colonies of the social wasp Polistes dominulus. Size of the CA was positively correlated with ovarian development in polygynous colonies. In contrast, solitary foundresses possessed significantly smaller CAs than dominant foundresses from polygynous nests, yet ovarian activity was similar for both female types. CA size variation was associated with variation in cuticular hydrocarbon proportions. Overwintering, solitary, dominant and subordinate (from associative nests) females all possessed distinctive cuticular chemical profiles revealed by multivariate discriminant analyses. Our data indicate that the social environment strongly affects reproductive physiology in this wasp, and we discuss the role of cuticular hydrocarbons in reproductive signaling in P. dominulus and other social insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- M F Sledge
- Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica, Università di Firenze, Via Romana 17, 50126 Firenze, Italy
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Mpuru S, Blomquist GJ, Schal C, Roux M, Kuenzli M, Dusticier G, Clément JL, Bagnères AG. Effect of age and sex on the production of internal and external hydrocarbons and pheromones in the housefly, Musca domestica. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2001; 31:139-155. [PMID: 11164336 DOI: 10.1016/s0965-1748(00)00098-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
The epicuticular and internal waxes of male and female houseflies were examined by capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry at closely timed intervals from emergence until day-6 of adulthood. New components identified included tricosan-10-one, 9,10-epoxyheptacosane, heptacosen-12-one, a series of odd-carbon numbered dienes from C31 to C39, several positional isomers of monoenes including (Z)-9- and 7-pentacosene and a number of methyl- and dimethylalkanes. (Z)-9-tricosene appears in internal lipids prior to appearing on the surface of the insect, suggesting that it is transported in the hemolymph to its site of deposition on the epicuticle. The large increases in the amount of (Z)-9-tricosene in females from day-2 until day-6 is compensated for by a concomitant decrease in (Z)-9-heptacosene. The C23 epoxide and ketone only appear in females after the production of (Z)-9-tricosene is induced, and are only abundant in epicuticular waxes, suggesting they are formed after (Z)-9-tricosene is transported to the cells which are involved in taking them to the surface of the insect. Mathematical analysis indicated that the time shift between internal production and external accumulation in females is more than 24 h. The divergence between male and female lipid production occurs at an early stage, when insects are less than one day old.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Mpuru
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Nevada, Reno, NE 89557-0014, USA
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Very Long-Chain Methyl-Branched Alcohols and Their Acetate Esters in the Internal Lipids of Lepidopteran Pupae: Cochylis hospes, Diatraea grandiosella, Homoeosoma electellum, Heliothis virescens and Helicoverpa zea. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 1997. [DOI: 10.1016/s0305-0491(96)00242-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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