Cuticle hydrocarbons in saline aquatic beetles
Hydrocarbons are the principal component of insect cuticle and play an important role in maintaining water balance. Cuticular impermeability could be an adaptative response to salinity and desiccation in aquatic insects; however, cuticular hydrocarbons have been poorly explored in this group and the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PeerJ Inc.
2017-07-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/3562.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797418720963854336 |
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| author | María Botella-Cruz Adrián Villastrigo Susana Pallarés Elena López-Gallego Andrés Millán Josefa Velasco |
| author_facet | María Botella-Cruz Adrián Villastrigo Susana Pallarés Elena López-Gallego Andrés Millán Josefa Velasco |
| author_sort | María Botella-Cruz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Hydrocarbons are the principal component of insect cuticle and play an important role in maintaining water balance. Cuticular impermeability could be an adaptative response to salinity and desiccation in aquatic insects; however, cuticular hydrocarbons have been poorly explored in this group and there are no previous data on saline species. We characterized cuticular hydrocarbons of adults and larvae of two saline aquatic beetles, namely Nebrioporus baeticus (Dytiscidae) and Enochrus jesusarribasi (Hydrophilidae), using a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer. The CHC profile of adults of both species, characterized by a high abundance of branched alkanes and low of unsaturated alkenes, seems to be more similar to that of some terrestrial beetles (e.g., desert Tenebrionidae) compared with other aquatic Coleoptera (freshwater Dytiscidae). Adults of E. jesusarribasi had longer chain compounds than N. baeticus, in agreement with their higher resistance to salinity and desiccation. The more permeable cuticle of larvae was characterized by a lower diversity in compounds, shorter carbon chain length and a higher proportion of unsaturated hydrocarbons compared with that of the adults. These results suggest that osmotic stress on aquatic insects could exert a selection pressure on CHC profile similar to aridity in terrestrial species. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:37:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3e0186f1dc884593bfdd957da0dd4dca |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:37:02Z |
| publishDate | 2017-07-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PeerJ |
| spelling | doaj.art-3e0186f1dc884593bfdd957da0dd4dca2023-12-03T10:55:51ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592017-07-015e356210.7717/peerj.3562Cuticle hydrocarbons in saline aquatic beetlesMaría Botella-Cruz0Adrián Villastrigo1Susana Pallarés2Elena López-Gallego3Andrés Millán4Josefa Velasco5Department of Ecology and Hydrology, University of Murcia, SpainInstitute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Barcelona, SpainDepartment of Ecology and Hydrology, University of Murcia, SpainInstituto Murciano de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario y Alimentario (IMIDA), Murcia, SpainDepartment of Ecology and Hydrology, University of Murcia, SpainDepartment of Ecology and Hydrology, University of Murcia, SpainHydrocarbons are the principal component of insect cuticle and play an important role in maintaining water balance. Cuticular impermeability could be an adaptative response to salinity and desiccation in aquatic insects; however, cuticular hydrocarbons have been poorly explored in this group and there are no previous data on saline species. We characterized cuticular hydrocarbons of adults and larvae of two saline aquatic beetles, namely Nebrioporus baeticus (Dytiscidae) and Enochrus jesusarribasi (Hydrophilidae), using a gas chromatograph coupled to a mass spectrometer. The CHC profile of adults of both species, characterized by a high abundance of branched alkanes and low of unsaturated alkenes, seems to be more similar to that of some terrestrial beetles (e.g., desert Tenebrionidae) compared with other aquatic Coleoptera (freshwater Dytiscidae). Adults of E. jesusarribasi had longer chain compounds than N. baeticus, in agreement with their higher resistance to salinity and desiccation. The more permeable cuticle of larvae was characterized by a lower diversity in compounds, shorter carbon chain length and a higher proportion of unsaturated hydrocarbons compared with that of the adults. These results suggest that osmotic stress on aquatic insects could exert a selection pressure on CHC profile similar to aridity in terrestrial species.https://peerj.com/articles/3562.pdfCHC profileDesiccation resistanceDytiscidaeHydrophilidaeWaterproofing cuticleSalinity |
| spellingShingle | María Botella-Cruz Adrián Villastrigo Susana Pallarés Elena López-Gallego Andrés Millán Josefa Velasco Cuticle hydrocarbons in saline aquatic beetles PeerJ CHC profile Desiccation resistance Dytiscidae Hydrophilidae Waterproofing cuticle Salinity |
| title | Cuticle hydrocarbons in saline aquatic beetles |
| title_full | Cuticle hydrocarbons in saline aquatic beetles |
| title_fullStr | Cuticle hydrocarbons in saline aquatic beetles |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cuticle hydrocarbons in saline aquatic beetles |
| title_short | Cuticle hydrocarbons in saline aquatic beetles |
| title_sort | cuticle hydrocarbons in saline aquatic beetles |
| topic | CHC profile Desiccation resistance Dytiscidae Hydrophilidae Waterproofing cuticle Salinity |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/3562.pdf |
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