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Insects
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Enzymatic Investigations in Insect Research
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Enzymatic Investigations in Insect Research

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Physiology, Reproduction and Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 5310

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Simona Sagona

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, University of Pisa, Via Bonanno 6, 56126 Pisa, Italy
Interests: honeybees; solitary bees; enzymes; biochemistry; diet effect; bees’ behaviour; glucose oxidase; phenoloxidase; antioxidant enzymes; proteome
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Insects have a simplified division of organs compared to higher organisms; therefore, macromolecules such as enzymes play an important role in certain metabolic processes such as in the immune system, antioxidant system, digestion, and storage of harvested food. Insect enzymes may undergo a change in their activity as a result of the presence of pathogens, the administration of artificial diets, or the presence of toxic substances/pesticides. This has implications for research into safeguarding the welfare of some insects or controlling them to avoid their infestation. The aim of this Special Issue is to encourage scientists to publish results related to the insect’s biology, physiology, behavior, and management, as well as their interactions with human societies, plants, and ecosystem services, using enzymatic activity as a parameter indicative of the physiology or the wellness of the insect. Researchers are invited to publish on themes of the immune system, antioxidant system, artificial diet effects, pathogen or pesticide effects, the environment–insect relationship read from an enzymatic perspective, insect digestion, fly, collection and storage of food, reproduction, nesting, and all other topics related to the involvement of enzymes in the physiological or pathological conditions of insects.

Dr. Simona Sagona
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • insects
  • enzyme activity
  • immune system
  • antioxidant system
  • insect physiology
  • diet
  • environment–insect relationship

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 1750 KiB  
Article
In Drosophila Hemolymph, Serine Proteases Are the Major Gelatinases and Caseinases
by Jean-Luc Gatti, Séverine Lemauf, Maya Belghazi, Laury Arthaud and Marylène Poirié
Insects 2024, 15(4), 234; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15040234 - 28 Mar 2024
Viewed by 498
Abstract
After separation on gel zymography, Drosophila melanogaster hemolymph displays gelatinase and caseinase bands of varying sizes, ranging from over 140 to 25 kDa. Qualitative and quantitative variations in these bands were observed during larval development and between different D. melanogaster strains and Drosophila [...] Read more.
After separation on gel zymography, Drosophila melanogaster hemolymph displays gelatinase and caseinase bands of varying sizes, ranging from over 140 to 25 kDa. Qualitative and quantitative variations in these bands were observed during larval development and between different D. melanogaster strains and Drosophila species. The activities of these Drosophila hemolymph gelatinase and caseinase were strongly inhibited by serine protease inhibitors, but not by EDTA. Mass spectrometry identified over 60 serine proteases (SPs) in gel bands corresponding to the major D. melanogaster gelatinases and caseinases, but no matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) were found. The most abundant proteases were tequila and members of the Jonah and trypsin families. However, the gelatinase bands did not show any change in the tequila null mutant. Additionally, no clear changes could be observed in D. melanogaster gel bands 24 h after injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) or after oviposition by Leptopilina boulardi endoparasitoid wasps. It can be concluded that the primary gelatinases and caseinases in Drosophila larval hemolymph are serine proteases (SPs) rather than matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Furthermore, the gelatinase pattern remains relatively stable even after short-term exposure to pathogenic challenges. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enzymatic Investigations in Insect Research)
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15 pages, 1979 KiB  
Article
Effects of Virgin Coconut Oil-Enriched Diet on Immune and Antioxidant Enzymatic Activity, Fat and Vitellogenin Contents in Newly Emerged and Forager Bees (Apis mellifera L.) Reared in Cages
by Simona Sagona, Francesca Coppola, Elena Tafi, Caterina Orlando, Chiara D’Onofrio, Chiara Benedetta Boni, Lucia Casini, Lionella Palego, Laura Betti, Gino Giannaccini and Antonio Felicioli
Insects 2023, 14(11), 856; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14110856 - 03 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1037
Abstract
Searching for artificial diets positively affecting the survival, immune and antioxidant systems of honey bees is one of main challenges occurring in beekeeping. Among nutrients, lipids play a significant role in insect nutrition as structural components in cell membranes, energy sources and reserves, [...] Read more.
Searching for artificial diets positively affecting the survival, immune and antioxidant systems of honey bees is one of main challenges occurring in beekeeping. Among nutrients, lipids play a significant role in insect nutrition as structural components in cell membranes, energy sources and reserves, and are involved in many physiological processes. In this context, the aim of this work was to investigate the effect of 0.5% and 1% coconut oil-enriched diet administration on newly emerged and forager bees survival rate, feed intake, immune system, antioxidant system and both fat and vitellogenin content. In newly emerged bees, supplementation with 1% coconut oil determined a decrease in feed consumption, an increase in survival rate from the 3rd to 14th day of feeding, a short-term decrease in phenoloxidase activity, an increase in body fat and no differences in vitellogenin content. Conversely, supplementation with 0.5% coconut oil determined an increase in survival rate from the 3rd to 15th day of feeding and an increase in fat content in the long term (i.e., 20 days). Regarding the forager bee diet, enrichment with 0.5% and 1% coconut oil only determined an increase in fat content. Therefore, supplementation with coconut oil in honey bee diets at low percentages (0.5 and 1%) determines fat gain. Further investigations to evaluate the use of such supplement foods to prevent the fat loss of weak families during winter are desirable. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enzymatic Investigations in Insect Research)
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18 pages, 3875 KiB  
Article
The Multifaceted Effects of Short-Term Acute Hypoxia Stress: Insights into the Tolerance Mechanism of Propsilocerus akamusi (Diptera: Chironomidae)
by Yao Zhang, Qing-Ji Zhang, Wen-Bin Xu, Wei Zou, Xian-Ling Xiang, Zhi-Jun Gong and Yong-Jiu Cai
Insects 2023, 14(10), 800; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14100800 - 03 Oct 2023
Viewed by 1149
Abstract
Plenty of freshwater species, especially macroinvertebrates that are essential to the provision of numerous ecosystem functions, encounter higher mortality due to acute hypoxia. However, within the family Chironomidae, a wide range of tolerance to hypoxia/anoxia is displayed. Propsilocerus akamusi depends on this great [...] Read more.
Plenty of freshwater species, especially macroinvertebrates that are essential to the provision of numerous ecosystem functions, encounter higher mortality due to acute hypoxia. However, within the family Chironomidae, a wide range of tolerance to hypoxia/anoxia is displayed. Propsilocerus akamusi depends on this great tolerance to become a dominant species in eutrophic lakes. To further understand how P. akamusi responds to acute hypoxic stress, we used multi-omics analysis in combination with histomorphological characteristics and physiological indicators. Thus, we set up two groups—a control group (DO 8.4 mg/L) and a hypoxic group (DO 0.39 mg/L)—to evaluate enzyme activity and the transcriptome, metabolome, and histomorphological characteristics. With blue–black chromatin, cell tightness, cell membrane invagination, and the production of apoptotic vesicles, tissue cells displayed typical apoptotic features in the hypoxic group. Although lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), catalase (CAT), and Na+/K+ -ATPase (NKA) activities were dramatically enhanced under hypoxic stress, glycogen content, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were significantly reduced compared to the control group. The combined analysis of the transcriptome and metabolome, which further demonstrated, in addition to carbohydrates, including glycogen, the involvement of energy metabolism pathways, including fatty acid, protein, trehalose, and glyoxylate cycles, provided additional support for the aforementioned findings. Lactate is the end product of glycogen degradation, and HIF-1 plays an important role in promoting glycogenolysis in acute hypoxic conditions. However, we discovered that the ethanol tested under hypoxic stress likely originates from the symbiodinium of P. akamusi. These results imply that some parameters related to energy metabolism, antioxidant enzyme activities, and histomorphological features may be used as biomarkers of eutrophic lakes in Chironomus riparius larvae. The study also provides a scientific reference for assessing toxicity and favoring policies to reduce their impact on the environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enzymatic Investigations in Insect Research)
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11 pages, 5183 KiB  
Article
Elucidating the Effect of Temperature Stress on the Protein Content, Total Antioxidant Capacity, and Antioxidant Enzyme Activities in Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae)
by Peng-Cheng Nie, Ruo-Lan Yang, Jing-Jiang Zhou, Youssef Dewer and Su-Qin Shang
Insects 2023, 14(5), 429; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14050429 - 29 Apr 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1440
Abstract
Tetranychus urticae Koch is a worldwide agricultural pest mite that feeds on more than 1100 kinds of crops. The mite has developed a high level of tolerance to high temperatures, but the physiological mechanism underlying the outstanding adaptability of this pest to high [...] Read more.
Tetranychus urticae Koch is a worldwide agricultural pest mite that feeds on more than 1100 kinds of crops. The mite has developed a high level of tolerance to high temperatures, but the physiological mechanism underlying the outstanding adaptability of this pest to high temperatures remains unclear. To clarify the physiological mechanisms of T. urticae in response to short-term heat stress, four temperatures (36, 39, 42, and 45 °C) and three short-term heat durations (2, 4, and 6 h) were conducted to test the effects on protein content, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT), and the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC). The results showed that protein content, antioxidant enzyme activity, and T-AOC in T. urticae were significantly induced by heat stress. These results suggest that heat stress induces oxidative stress and that antioxidant enzymes play an important role in reducing oxidative damage in T. urticae. The data of this study will provide a basis for further research on the molecular mechanisms of thermostability and ecological adaptability of T. urticae. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enzymatic Investigations in Insect Research)
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