One-fifth of the animal species on Earth are beetles, and about 400,000 species are officially described, but scientists believe there are 1.5 million different types of these resilient little worms on Earth. I believe there are other types. They also have a short lifespan of a few weeks to a few years, so they have developed some clever survival mechanisms.
For example, chafers produce lubricants in their leg areas and have the ability to combat environmental desiccation of their exoskeleton joints, while the bombardier beetle’s venomous backend toxic blasts are highly effective weapons.
Scientists now know how beetles open their rectums for hydration, extracting water from many sources, including from the ambient air, and working in extremely dry environments unsuitable for other animals. discovered a way to allow survival in A planet that keeps changing.
“We have shed new light on the molecular mechanisms that enable beetles to absorb water through their rectum,” said lead researcher Kenneth Verand Hallberg, associate professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Copenhagen. increase. drink liquid water. This is because the rectum is deformed and the kidneys are closely related. Together, they form a multi-organ system that is highly specialized in extracting water from the food we eat and the air around us. In fact, the faecal samples we examined were completely dry, effectively free of any traces of moisture. ”
A collaborative study by researchers from the Universities of Copenhagen, Edinburgh and Glasgow examined the internal organs of the red hookworm (tribolium chestnut), biologically similar to other species.they have the gene Nya 1 It was expressed 60 times more in the rectum than anywhere else in the animal’s body and was localized to a unique group of cells called leptofragma cells. They have been proven to play an important role in incredibly efficient back-end water absorption in animals.
“Leptophragma cells are tiny cells that sit like a window between the beetle’s kidney and the insect’s circulatory system or blood,” says Halberg. It collects water from moist air through the rectum and from here into the body.
Kenneth Hallberg
When the team silenced the expression of Nya 1beetles dramatically increased excremental water loss and reduced viability in previously uninhabitable arid conditions.
Scientists are not only gaining a better understanding of one of nature’s most impressive arid environment survival phenomena, but also developing environmentally safe beetle populations to control destructive beetle populations that threaten food security. I believe that it will be possible to develop a method.
The red flour beetle, grain weevil, confused flour beetle, Colorado potato beetle, etc. destroy about 25% of the world’s food supply each year, and US$100 billion is spent annually on pesticides. This harms useful species such as bees, as well as the wider environment.
Because beetles can extract liquid from dry kernels that are given only 1-2% moisture, developing methods to weaken their genetic ability to absorb this and other sources of hydration could help these environments inhabit. may become impossible.
“Insects are particularly sensitive to changes in water balance,” says Halberg. “Therefore, this knowledge will develop more targeted ways to combat the beetle species that destroy our food production without killing other animals or harming humans or nature. can be used for
“We now understand exactly which genes, cells and molecules are at work when beetles absorb water in their rectum,” he added. are developing insecticides that target this function. ”
The study was published in a journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Source: University of Copenhagen Faculty of Science via EurekAlert!
