ORCID Profile
0000-0002-1351-7928
Current Organisations
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
,
University of Florida
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Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 06-12-2022
DOI: 10.7554/ELIFE.80859
Abstract: Maintaining water balance is a universal challenge for organisms living in terrestrial environments, especially for insects, which have essential roles in our ecosystem. Although the high surface area to volume ratio in insects makes them vulnerable to water loss, insects have evolved different levels of desiccation resistance to adapt to erse environments. To withstand desiccation, insects use a lipid layer called cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) to reduce water evaporation from the body surface. It has long been hypothesized that the water-proofing capability of this CHC layer, which can confer different levels of desiccation resistance, depends on its chemical composition. However, it is unknown which CHC components are important contributors to desiccation resistance and how these components can determine differences in desiccation resistance. In this study, we used machine-learning algorithms, correlation analyses, and synthetic CHCs to investigate how different CHC components affect desiccation resistance in 50 Drosophila and related species. We showed that desiccation resistance differences across these species can be largely explained by variation in CHC composition. In particular, length variation in a subset of CHCs, the methyl-branched CHCs (mbCHCs), is a key determinant of desiccation resistance. There is also a significant correlation between the evolution of longer mbCHCs and higher desiccation resistance in these species. Given that CHCs are almost ubiquitous in insects, we suggest that evolutionary changes in insect CHC components can be a general mechanism for the evolution of desiccation resistance and adaptation to erse and changing environments.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 28-06-2022
DOI: 10.1101/2022.06.24.497513
Abstract: Maintaining water balance is a universal challenge for organisms living in terrestrial environments, especially for insects, which have essential roles in our ecosystem. Although the high surface area to volume ratio in insects makes them vulnerable to water loss, insects have evolved different levels of desiccation resistance to adapt to erse environments. To withstand desiccation, insects use a lipid layer called cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) to reduce water evaporation from the body surface. It has long been hypothesized that the waterproofing capability of this CHC layer, which can confer different levels of desiccation resistance, depends on its chemical composition. However, it is unknown which CHC components are important contributors to desiccation resistance and how these components can determine differences in desiccation resistance. In this study, we used machine learning algorithms, correlation analyses, and synthetic CHCs to investigate how different CHC components affect desiccation resistance in 50 Drosophila and related species. We showed that desiccation resistance differences across these species can be largely explained by variation in cuticular hydrocarbons. In particular, length variation in a subset of CHCs, the methyl-branched CHCs (mbCHCs), is a key determinant of desiccation resistance. We also showed a significant correlation between the evolution of longer mbCHCs and higher desiccation resistance. Given the ubiquitous presence of mbCHCs in insects, the evolution of mbCHCs may be a general mechanism of how insects evolve desiccation resistance and adapt to erse and changing environments. As our planet is becoming more arid due to global warming, preventing dehydration is key to the survival of insects, an essential part of our ecosystem. However, factors that determine how insects may evolve resistance to desiccation are relatively unknown. Using Drosophila species from erse habitats, we showed that variations in the composition of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), a hydrophobic layer found on insects to prevent evaporative water loss, can largely explain desiccation resistance differences. In addition, the evolution of longer methyl-branched CHCs (mbCHCs), underlies the evolution of higher desiccation resistance in this genus. As mbCHCs are ubiquitously present in most insects, we suggest that evolutionary changes in mbCHCs may be a general determinant of desiccation resistance across insect species.
Location: United States of America
Location: United States of America
No related grants have been discovered for Muxuan Liang.