We examined age-related biochemical and histological changes in the fat bodies and hemolymph of Osmia rufa males and females. We analysed solitary bees during diapause, in October and in April; as well as the flying insects following diapause, in May and June. The trophocyte sizes, as well as the numbers of lipid droplets were the greatest at the beginning of diapause. Subsequently, they decrea...

Biomphalaria alexandrina snails play an indispensable role in transmission of schistosomiasis. Infection rates in field populations of snails are routinely determined by cercarial shedding neglecting prepatent snail infections, because of lack of a suitable method for diagnosis. The present study aimed at separation and quantification of oxalic, malic, acetic, pyruvic, and fumaric acids using i...

Colonizations from marine to freshwater environments constitute among the most dramatic evolutionary transitions in the history of life. Colonizing dilute environments poses great challenges for acquiring essential ions against steep concentration gradients. This study explored the evolution of body fluid regulation following freshwater invasions by the copepod Eurytemora affinis. The goals of ...

The honeybee, Apis mellifera, is an invaluable partner in agriculture around the world both for its production of honey and, more importantly, for its role in pollination. Honeybees are largely unexplored at the molecular level despite a long and distinguished career as a model organism for understanding social behavior. Like other eusocial insects, honeybees can be divided into several castes:...

A number of evidences suggest that tachykinin-related peptides (TRPs) of insects can stimulate food consumption after being released from the midgut to the hemolymph. The idea of the present work has been to test this hypothesis in the anautogenous cockroach Blattella germanica. First, we have identified the peptide LemTRP-1 (APSGFLGVR-NH(2)) from brain extracts, by means of an ELISA developed ...

Hemolymph circulation in insects is driven primarily by the contractile action of a dorsal vessel, which is divided into an abdominal heart and a thoracic aorta. As holometabolous insects, mosquitoes undergo striking morphological and physiological changes during metamorphosis. This study presents a comprehensive structural and functional analysis of the larval and adult dorsal vessel in the ma...

We previously reported that sugar levels in the silkworm hemolymph, i.e., blood, increase immediately (within 1 h) after intake of a high-glucose diet, and that the administration of human insulin decreases elevated hemolymph sugar levels in silkworms. In this hyperglycemic silkworm model, however, administration of pioglitazone or metformin, drugs used clinically for the treatment of type II d...

The eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica has a remarkable ability to withstand low oxygen conditions; however, many of the biochemical mechanisms by which that tolerance is accomplished remain poorly understood. In addition, little is known about hypoxia tolerances and adaptations of the Asian oyster Crassostrea ariakensis. By comparing these closely related species, we may learn more about the...

The marine mussel innate immunity provides protection to pathogen invasion and inflammation. In this regard, the mussel hemolymph takes a main role in the animal innate response. Despite the importance of this body fluid in determining the physiological condition of the animal, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying the cellular and humoral responses. In this work, we have ap...

A serine proteinase cascade in insect hemolymph mediates prophenoloxidase activation, a defense mechanism against pathogen or parasite infection. Little is known regarding its initiating proteinase or how this enzyme is activated in response to invading microorganisms. We have isolated from the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, a cDNA encoding a modular protein designated hemolymph proteinase 14...