Desiccation resistance: effect of cuticular hydrocarbons and water content in Drosophila melanogaster adults
Background The insect cuticle covers the whole body and all appendages and has bi-directionnal selective permeability: it protects against environmental stress and pathogen infection and also helps to reduce water loss. The adult cuticle is often associated with a superficial layer of fatty acid-der...
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PeerJ Inc.
2018-02-01
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/4318.pdf |
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| author | Jean-Francois Ferveur Jérôme Cortot Karen Rihani Matthew Cobb Claude Everaerts |
| author_facet | Jean-Francois Ferveur Jérôme Cortot Karen Rihani Matthew Cobb Claude Everaerts |
| author_sort | Jean-Francois Ferveur |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background The insect cuticle covers the whole body and all appendages and has bi-directionnal selective permeability: it protects against environmental stress and pathogen infection and also helps to reduce water loss. The adult cuticle is often associated with a superficial layer of fatty acid-derived molecules such as waxes and long chain hydrocarbons that prevent rapid dehydration. The waterproofing properties of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHs) depend on their chain length and desaturation number. Drosophila CH biosynthesis involves an enzymatic pathway including several elongase and desaturase enzymes. Methods The link between desiccation resistance and CH profile remains unclear, so we tested (1) experimentally selected desiccation-resistant lines, (2) transgenic flies with altered desaturase expression and (3) natural and laboratory-induced CH variants. We also explored the possible relationship between desiccation resistance, relative water content and fecundity in females. Results We found that increased desiccation resistance is linked with the increased proportion of desaturated CHs, but not with their total amount. Experimentally-induced desiccation resistance and CH variation both remained stable after many generations without selection. Conversely, flies with a higher water content and a lower proportion of desaturated CHs showed reduced desiccation resistance. This was also the case in flies with defective desaturase expression in the fat body. Discussion We conclude that rapidly acquired desiccation resistance, depending on both CH profile and water content, can remain stable without selection in a humid environment. These three phenotypes, which might be expected to show a simple relationship, turn out to have complex physiological and genetic links. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:40:54Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:40:54Z |
| publishDate | 2018-02-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-0fbc506006c643118668929351f789b82023-12-03T10:50:25ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-02-016e431810.7717/peerj.4318Desiccation resistance: effect of cuticular hydrocarbons and water content in Drosophila melanogaster adultsJean-Francois Ferveur0Jérôme Cortot1Karen Rihani2Matthew Cobb3Claude Everaerts4Centre des Sciences du Goût et de l’Alimentation, Agrosup-UMR 6265 CNRS, UMR 1324 INRA, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, FranceCentre des Sciences du Goût et de l’Alimentation, Agrosup-UMR 6265 CNRS, UMR 1324 INRA, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, FranceCentre des Sciences du Goût et de l’Alimentation, Agrosup-UMR 6265 CNRS, UMR 1324 INRA, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, FranceSchool of Biological Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United KingdomCentre des Sciences du Goût et de l’Alimentation, Agrosup-UMR 6265 CNRS, UMR 1324 INRA, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon, FranceBackground The insect cuticle covers the whole body and all appendages and has bi-directionnal selective permeability: it protects against environmental stress and pathogen infection and also helps to reduce water loss. The adult cuticle is often associated with a superficial layer of fatty acid-derived molecules such as waxes and long chain hydrocarbons that prevent rapid dehydration. The waterproofing properties of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHs) depend on their chain length and desaturation number. Drosophila CH biosynthesis involves an enzymatic pathway including several elongase and desaturase enzymes. Methods The link between desiccation resistance and CH profile remains unclear, so we tested (1) experimentally selected desiccation-resistant lines, (2) transgenic flies with altered desaturase expression and (3) natural and laboratory-induced CH variants. We also explored the possible relationship between desiccation resistance, relative water content and fecundity in females. Results We found that increased desiccation resistance is linked with the increased proportion of desaturated CHs, but not with their total amount. Experimentally-induced desiccation resistance and CH variation both remained stable after many generations without selection. Conversely, flies with a higher water content and a lower proportion of desaturated CHs showed reduced desiccation resistance. This was also the case in flies with defective desaturase expression in the fat body. Discussion We conclude that rapidly acquired desiccation resistance, depending on both CH profile and water content, can remain stable without selection in a humid environment. These three phenotypes, which might be expected to show a simple relationship, turn out to have complex physiological and genetic links.https://peerj.com/articles/4318.pdfInsectDrosophilaSelectionDehydrationCuticleFat body |
| spellingShingle | Jean-Francois Ferveur Jérôme Cortot Karen Rihani Matthew Cobb Claude Everaerts Desiccation resistance: effect of cuticular hydrocarbons and water content in Drosophila melanogaster adults PeerJ Insect Drosophila Selection Dehydration Cuticle Fat body |
| title | Desiccation resistance: effect of cuticular hydrocarbons and water content in Drosophila melanogaster adults |
| title_full | Desiccation resistance: effect of cuticular hydrocarbons and water content in Drosophila melanogaster adults |
| title_fullStr | Desiccation resistance: effect of cuticular hydrocarbons and water content in Drosophila melanogaster adults |
| title_full_unstemmed | Desiccation resistance: effect of cuticular hydrocarbons and water content in Drosophila melanogaster adults |
| title_short | Desiccation resistance: effect of cuticular hydrocarbons and water content in Drosophila melanogaster adults |
| title_sort | desiccation resistance effect of cuticular hydrocarbons and water content in drosophila melanogaster adults |
| topic | Insect Drosophila Selection Dehydration Cuticle Fat body |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/4318.pdf |
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