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Scheifler M, Wilhelm L, Visser B. Lipid Metabolism in Parasitoids and Parasitized Hosts. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND BIOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38977639 DOI: 10.1007/5584_2024_812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/10/2024]
Abstract
Parasitoids have an exceptional lifestyle where juvenile development is spent on or in a single host insect, but the adults are free-living. Unlike parasites, parasitoids kill the host. How parasitoids use such a limiting resource, particularly lipids, can affect chances to survive and reproduce. In part 1, we describe the parasitoid lifestyle, including typical developmental strategies. Lipid metabolism in parasitoids has been of interest to researchers since the 1960s and continues to fascinate ecologists, evolutionists, physiologists, and entomologists alike. One reason of this interest is that the majority of parasitoids do not accumulate triacylglycerols as adults. Early research revealed that some parasitoid larvae mimic the fatty acid composition of the host, which may result from a lack of de novo triacylglycerol synthesis. More recent work has focused on the evolution of lack of adult triacylglycerol accumulation and consequences for life history traits. In part 2 of this chapter, we discuss research efforts on lipid metabolism in parasitoids from the 1960s onwards. Parasitoids are also master manipulators of host physiology, including lipid metabolism, having evolved a range of mechanisms to affect the release, synthesis, transport, and take-up of lipids from the host. We lay out the effects of parasitism on host physiology in part 3 of this chapter.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathilde Scheifler
- Evolution and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
| | - Léonore Wilhelm
- Evolution and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
| | - Bertanne Visser
- Evolution and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium.
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2
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Visser B, Le Lann C, Hahn DA, Lammers M, Nieberding CM, Alborn HT, Enriquez T, Scheifler M, Harvey JA, Ellers J. Many parasitoids lack adult fat accumulation, despite fatty acid synthesis: A discussion of concepts and considerations for future research. CURRENT RESEARCH IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 3:100055. [PMID: 37124650 PMCID: PMC10139962 DOI: 10.1016/j.cris.2023.100055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Fat reserves, specifically the accumulation of triacylglycerols, are a major energy source and play a key role for life histories. Fat accumulation is a conserved metabolic pattern across most insects, yet in most parasitoid species adults do not gain fat mass, even when nutrients are readily available and provided ad libitum. This extraordinary physiological phenotype has evolved repeatedly in phylogenetically dispersed parasitoid species. This poses a conundrum because it could lead to significant constraints on energy allocation toward key adult functions such as survival and reproduction. Recent work on the underlying genetic and biochemical mechanisms has spurred a debate on fat accumulation versus fat production, because of incongruent interpretation of results obtained using different methodologies. This debate is in part due to semantics, highlighting the need for a synthetic perspective on fat accumulation that reconciles previous debates and provides new insights and terminology. In this paper, we propose updated, unambiguous terminology for future research in the field, including "fatty acid synthesis" and "lack of adult fat accumulation", and describe the distinct metabolic pathways involved in the complex process of lipogenesis. We then discuss the benefits and drawbacks of the main methods available to measure fatty acid synthesis and adult fat accumulation. Most importantly, gravimetric/colorimetric and isotope tracking methods give complementary information, provided that they are applied with appropriate controls and interpreted correctly. We also compiled a comprehensive list of fat accumulation studies performed during the last 25 years. We present avenues for future research that combine chemistry, ecology, and evolution into an integrative approach, which we think is needed to understand the dynamics of fat accumulation in parasitoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bertanne Visser
- Evolution and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
- Corresponding author.
| | - Cécile Le Lann
- CNRS, ECOBIO (écosystèmes, Biodiversité, Évolution) – UMR, Université de Rennes, 6553, France
| | - Daniel A. Hahn
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, The University of Florida, USA
| | - Mark Lammers
- Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity, University of Münster, Germany
| | | | - Hans T. Alborn
- United States Department of Agriculture, Chemistry Research Unit, Gainesville, USA
| | - Thomas Enriquez
- Evolution and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
| | - Mathilde Scheifler
- Evolution and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Entomology, Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech, University of Liège, Gembloux, Belgium
| | - Jeffrey A. Harvey
- Department of Terrestrial Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, the Netherlands
- Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Jacintha Ellers
- Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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3
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Multerer MT, Wendler M, Ruther J. The biological significance of lipogenesis in Nasonia vitripennis. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220208. [PMID: 35414234 PMCID: PMC9006012 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Parasitic wasps have long been thought to be unable to synthesize fatty acids de novo, but recent 13C-labelling studies have challenged this view. It remained unclear, however, whether the reported biosynthesis rates are of biological relevance. Here, we show in Nasonia vitripennis that ageing females with partly depleted lipid reserves produce biologically relevant amounts of fatty acids de novo. Females with varying oviposition history (0-48 h) prior to feeding 20% 13C-labelled glucose solution showed 13C-incorporation rates of (mean ± SEM) 30 ± 2%, 50 ± 2%, 49 ± 3% and 21 ± 2% in palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acid, respectively. The absolute amounts of fatty acids synthesized de novo across treatments corresponded to 28 ± 3 egg lipid equivalents. Females incorporated de novo synthesized fatty acids into their eggs, and glucose-fed females laid more eggs than water-fed control females. The number of eggs laid prior to glucose feeding did not correlate with the degree of lipogenesis, but the amounts of de novo synthesized fatty acids correlated with constitutive (not synthesized de novo) fatty acids. Hence, glucose feeding has a twofold effect on the fatty acid status of N. vitripennis females by decelerating the catabolism of existing fat reserves and partially replenishing ebbing fat reserves by lipogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Theres Multerer
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Martina Wendler
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
| | - Joachim Ruther
- Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Universitätsstraße 31, 93053 Regensburg, Germany
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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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Jerbi-Elayed M, Foray V, Tougeron K, Grissa-Lebdi K, Hance T. Developmental Temperature Affects Life-History Traits and Heat Tolerance in the Aphid Parasitoid Aphidius colemani. INSECTS 2021; 12:852. [PMID: 34680621 PMCID: PMC8541483 DOI: 10.3390/insects12100852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Developmental temperature plays important roles in the expression of insect traits through thermal developmental plasticity. We exposed the aphid parasitoid Aphidius colemani to different temperature regimes (10, 20, or 28 °C) throughout larval development and studied the expression of morphological and physiological traits indicator of fitness and heat tolerance in the adult. We showed that the mass decreased and the surface to volume ratio of parasitoids increased with the development temperature. Water content was not affected by rearing temperature, but parasitoids accumulated more lipids when reared at 20 °C. Egg content was not affected by developmental temperature, but adult survival was better for parasitoids reared at 20 °C. Finally, parasitoids developed at 20 °C showed the highest heat stupor threshold, whereas parasitoids developed at 28 °C showed the highest heat coma threshold (better heat tolerance CTmax1 and CTmax2, respectively), therefore only partly supporting the beneficial acclimation hypothesis. From a fundamental point of view, our study highlights the role of thermal plasticity (adaptive or not) on the expression of different life history traits in insects and the possible correlations that exist between these traits. From an applied perspective, these results are important in the context of biological control through mass release techniques of parasitoids in hot environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mey Jerbi-Elayed
- Earth and Life Institute, Ecology and Biodiversity, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; (K.T.); (T.H.)
| | - Vincent Foray
- Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS, Université de Tours, 37200 Tours, France;
| | - Kévin Tougeron
- Earth and Life Institute, Ecology and Biodiversity, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; (K.T.); (T.H.)
- EDYSAN, UMR CNRS 7058 (Écologie et Dynamique des Systèmes Anthropisés), Université de Picardie Jules Verne, 80090 Amiens, France
| | - Kaouthar Grissa-Lebdi
- Department of Plant Protection, Institut Agronomique de Tunisie, Université de Carthage, Carthage 28327, Tunisia;
| | - Thierry Hance
- Earth and Life Institute, Ecology and Biodiversity, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; (K.T.); (T.H.)
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