Recent studies suggest that fruit cuticle is an important contributing factor to tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruit shelf life and storability. Moreover, it has been hypothesized that variation in fruit cuticle composition may underlie differences in traits such as fruit resistance to desiccation and microbial infection. To gain a better understanding of cuticle lipid composition diversity dur...

Recently, we proposed a hierarchical model for the elastic properties of mineralized lobster cuticle using (i) ab initio calculations for the chitin properties and (ii) hierarchical homogenization performed in a bottom-up order through all length scales. It has been found that the cuticle possesses nearly extremal, excellent mechanical properties in terms of stiffness that strongly depend on th...

Keratin micro-tubes were obtained by heating medullated keratin fibres to temperatures above 230°C under nitrogen atmosphere, when, as documented by microscopy, the cortex (the core of the fibre) melts from the medulla outwards, followed by pyrolysis of the material through the remaining solid cuticle (shell) layer. The resulted hollow tubes from fibres void of cortical material keep the extern...

The insect pathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae produces several extracellular cuticle-degrading proteases and evidence is consistent that one of these, a chymoelastase PRl, is a determinant of pathogenicity. We have shown previously that the wide-domain regulatory circuits of carbon and nitrogen derepression regulate PRI production. In the present work we have established in addition that ...

1. The mechanical properties of loops of cuticle cut from the abdomens of 5th instar Rhodnius have been investigated. The cuticle shows pronounced viscoelastic behaviour. 2. Stress-relaxation tests show a continuously falling modulus over a wide range of times after the imposition of a strain. 3. Plasticized samples of cuticle show stress-relaxation curves which are shifted along the time axis ...

Angiostrongylus cantonensis is a parasitic nematode that needs to develop in different hosts in different larval stages. Freshwater snails, such as Pomacea canaliculata, are the intermediate host, and rats are the definitive host. Periodic shedding of the cuticle (moulting) is an important biological process for the survival and development of the parasite in the intermediate and definitive hos...

Mango fruit (Mangifera indica L.) are highly perishable and have a limited shelf life, due to postharvest desiccation and senescence, which limits their global distribution. Recent studies of tomato fruit suggest that these traits are influenced by the expression of genes that are associated with cuticle metabolism. However, studies of these phenomena in mango fruit are limited by the lack of g...

Bursicon is a heterodimeric neurohormone that acts through a G protein-coupled receptor named rickets (rk), thus inducing an increase in cAMP and the activation of tyrosine hydroxylase, the rate-limiting enzyme in the cuticular tanning pathway. In insects, the role of bursicon in the post-ecdysial tanning of the adult cuticle and wing expansion is well characterized. Here we investigated the ro...

The aerial organs of plants are covered by the cuticle, a polyester matrix of cutin and organic solvent-soluble waxes that is contiguous with the polysaccharide cell wall of the epidermis. The cuticle is an important surface barrier between a plant and its environment, providing protection against desiccation, disease, and pests. However, many aspects of the mechanisms of cuticle biosynthesis, ...

The exoskeleton or cuticle of arthropods is an important feature that contributes to their great success in colonising numerous habitats on earth. It has numerous functions among which to provide protection against parasites. Whereas often regarded as a simple physical barrier to the outside world, the immune protection of the cuticle is slightly more complex than that. Here, we provide an over...