-
Current Opinion in Insect Science Dec 2018Micro-Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) microphones inspired by the remarkable phonotactic capability of Ormia ochracea offer the promise of microscale directional... (Review)
Review
Micro-Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) microphones inspired by the remarkable phonotactic capability of Ormia ochracea offer the promise of microscale directional microphones with a greatly reduced need for post-processing of signals. Gravid O. ochracea females can locate their host cricket's 5 kHz mating calls to an accuracy of less than 2° despite having a distance of approximately 500 μm between the ears. MEMS devices base on the principles of operation of O. ochracea's hearing system have been well studied, however commercial implementation has proven challenging due to the system's reliance on carefully tailored ratios of stiffness and damping, which are difficult to realize in standard MEMS fabrication processes, necessitating a trade-off between wide-band operation and sensitivity. A survey of the variety of strategies that have been followed to address these inherent challenges is presented.
Topics: Acoustics; Animals; Auditory Perception; Diptera; Host-Parasite Interactions; Microtechnology; Orthoptera
PubMed: 30553482
DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.09.002 -
Physiology (Bethesda, Md.) Jan 2013Insect tracheal-respiratory systems achieve high fluxes and great dynamic range with low energy requirements and could be important models for bioengineers interested in... (Review)
Review
Insect tracheal-respiratory systems achieve high fluxes and great dynamic range with low energy requirements and could be important models for bioengineers interested in developing microfluidic systems. Recent advances suggest that insect cardiorespiratory systems have functional valves that permit compartmentalization with segment-specific pressures and flows and that system anatomy allows regional flows. Convection dominates over diffusion as a transport mechanism in the major tracheae, but Reynolds numbers suggest viscous effects remain important.
Topics: Animals; Biomedical Engineering; Grasshoppers; Microfluidics; Models, Animal; Respiration; Respiratory Physiological Phenomena
PubMed: 23280354
DOI: 10.1152/physiol.00043.2012 -
The Lancet. Microbe Jul 2022
Topics: Animals; COVID-19; Fungal Proteins; Orthoptera; SARS-CoV-2
PubMed: 35779561
DOI: 10.1016/S2666-5247(22)00161-6 -
Scientific Reports Aug 2020Acrididae are diverse in size, body shape, behavior, ecology and life history; widely distributed; easy to collect; and important to agriculture. They represent... (Comparative Study)
Comparative Study
Acrididae are diverse in size, body shape, behavior, ecology and life history; widely distributed; easy to collect; and important to agriculture. They represent promising model candidates for functional genomics, but their extremely large genomes have hindered this research; establishing a reference transcriptome for a species is the primary means of obtaining genetic information. Here, two Acrididae species, Gomphocerus licenti and Mongolotettix japonicus, were selected for full-length (FL) PacBio transcriptome sequencing. For G. licenti and M. japonicus, respectively, 590,112 and 566,165 circular consensus sequences (CCS) were generated, which identified 458,131 and 428,979 full-length nonchimeric (FLNC) reads. After isoform-level clustering, next-generation sequencing (NGS) short sequences were used for error correction, and remove redundant sequences with CD-HIT, 17,970 and 16,766 unigenes were generated for G. licenti and M. japonicus. In addition, we obtained 17,495 and 16,373 coding sequences, 1,082 and 813 transcription factors, 11,840 and 10,814 simple sequence repeats, and 905 and 706 long noncoding RNAs by analyzing the transcriptomes of G. licenti and M. japonicus, respectively, and 15,803 and 14,846 unigenes were annotated in eight functional databases. This is the first study to sequence FL transcriptomes of G. licenti and M. japonicus, providing valuable genetic resources for further functional genomics research.
Topics: Alternative Splicing; Animals; Female; Gene Expression Profiling; Grasshoppers; Male; Microsatellite Repeats; RNA, Long Noncoding; Transcriptome
PubMed: 32848169
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-71178-5 -
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences :... May 2022Insect flight is a complex physiological process that involves sensory and neuroendocrinal control, efficient energy metabolism, rhythmic muscle contraction, and... (Review)
Review
Insect flight is a complex physiological process that involves sensory and neuroendocrinal control, efficient energy metabolism, rhythmic muscle contraction, and coordinated wing movement. As a classical study model for insect flight, locusts have attracted much attention from physiologists, behaviorists, and neuroendocrinologists over the past decades. In earlier research, scientists made extensive efforts to explore the hormone regulation of metabolism related to locust flight; however, this work was hindered by the absence of molecular and genetic tools. Recently, the rapid development of molecular and genetic tools as well as multi-omics has greatly advanced our understanding of the metabolic, molecular, and neuroendocrinal basis of long-term flight in locusts. Novel neural and molecular factors modulating locust flight and their regulatory mechanisms have been explored. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms underlying phase-dependent differences in locust flight have also been revealed. Here, we provide a systematic review of locust flight physiology, with emphasis on recent advances in the neuroendocrinal, genetic, and molecular basis. Future research directions and potential challenges are also addressed.
Topics: Animals; Energy Metabolism; Flight, Animal; Grasshoppers; Insecta; Muscle Contraction
PubMed: 35644827
DOI: 10.1007/s00018-022-04344-9 -
Journal of Ethnobiology and... Mar 2022In sub-Saharan Africa, there is a wealth of information about insects which is often only orally available. The purpose of the study was to remedy this shortcoming and... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
In sub-Saharan Africa, there is a wealth of information about insects which is often only orally available. The purpose of the study was to remedy this shortcoming and make an overview of how orthopteran species are utilised, perceived and experienced in daily life across sub-Saharan Africa.
METHOD
Ethno-entomological information on Orthoptera in sub-Saharan Africa was collected by (1) interviews with more than 300 people from about 120 ethnic groups in 27 countries in the region; (2) library studies in Africa, London, Paris and Leiden; and (3) using web search engines.
RESULTS
More than 126 species of crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts have been identified as edible in sub-Saharan Africa. Some toxic species, such as Zonocerus spp., are eaten by some groups who use processing and detoxifying techniques. The katydid Ruspolia differens is very popular as food in central and eastern Africa and is captured by indigenous and commercial methods. Vernacular names refer to their morphology, behaviour, characteristics or the beliefs associated with the insect. The aposematic pyrgomorphid species, such as Zonocerus spp., are often used as medicine. Children play with grasshoppers, by for instance herding them like cattle, and they consider cricket-hunting for food as a game. The doctrine of signatures probably plays a role, as crickets, because of their chirping, are used to improve the sound of a music instrument, or as medicine to treat earache. Locust plagues are considered a punishment which requires repentance, but also an opportunity to acquire food. Proverbs and stories relate to using the orthopterans as food or to the underground lives of the crickets. Possible explanations are given as to why so many practices, beliefs and stories about orthopterans are so widespread in sub-Saharan Africa. The relevance of recording such ethno-entomological practices is discussed.
CONCLUSION
Grasshoppers, locusts and crickets, although they may be agricultural pests, are very popular as food. They are also used in medicine, and as toys, and they play a role in religion, art and literature.
Topics: Africa South of the Sahara; Animals; Cattle; Food; Grasshoppers; Gryllidae; Humans
PubMed: 35346258
DOI: 10.1186/s13002-022-00524-w -
PloS One 2023Animal genomes vary widely in size, and much of their architecture and content remains poorly understood. Even among related groups, such as orders of insects, genomes...
Animal genomes vary widely in size, and much of their architecture and content remains poorly understood. Even among related groups, such as orders of insects, genomes may vary in size by orders of magnitude-for reasons unknown. The largest known insect genomes were repeatedly found in Orthoptera, e.g., Podisma pedestris (1C = 16.93 pg), Stethophyma grossum (1C = 18.48 pg) and Bryodemella holdereri (1C = 18.64 pg). While all these species belong to the suborder of Caelifera, the ensiferan Deracantha onos (1C = 19.60 pg) was recently found to have the largest genome. Here, we present new genome size estimates of 50 further species of Ensifera (superfamilies Gryllidea, Tettigoniidea) and Caelifera (Acrididae, Tetrigidae) based on flow cytometric measurements. We found that Bryodemella tuberculata (Caelifera: Acrididae) has the so far largest measured genome of all insects with 1C = 21.96 pg (21.48 gBp). Species of Orthoptera with 2n = 16 and 2n = 22 chromosomes have significantly larger genomes than species with other chromosome counts. Gryllidea genomes vary between 1C = 0.95 and 2.88 pg, and Tetrigidae between 1C = 2.18 and 2.41, while the genomes of all other studied Orthoptera range in size from 1C = 1.37 to 21.96 pg. Reconstructing ancestral genome sizes based on a phylogenetic tree of mitochondrial genomic data, we found genome size values of >15.84 pg only for the nodes of Bryodemella holdereri / B. tuberculata and Chrysochraon dispar / Euthystira brachyptera. The predicted values of ancestral genome sizes are 6.19 pg for Orthoptera, 5.37 pg for Ensifera, and 7.28 pg for Caelifera. The reasons for the large genomes in Orthoptera remain largely unknown, but a duplication or polyploidization seems unlikely as chromosome numbers do not differ much. Sequence-based genomic studies may shed light on the underlying evolutionary mechanisms.
Topics: Animals; Orthoptera; Phylogeny; Genome Size; Biological Evolution; Grasshoppers; Genome, Insect
PubMed: 36920952
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275551 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Mar 2022Aposematic coloration is among the most diverse antipredator strategies, which can signal unpleasantness of organisms to potential predators and reduce the probability...
Aposematic coloration is among the most diverse antipredator strategies, which can signal unpleasantness of organisms to potential predators and reduce the probability of predation. Unlike mimesis, aposematic coloration allows organisms to warn their predators away by conspicuous and recognizable colour patterns. However, aposematism has been a regular puzzle, especially as the long-term history of such traits is obscured by an insufficient fossil record. Here, we report the discovery of aposematic coloration in an orthopteran nymph from Mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber (99 million years old). It is attributed to the extinct family Elcanidae and erected as a new genus identified by conspicuous dark/light-striped coloration, four apical spurs on the metatibia, a two-segmented metatarsus and unsegmented stylus. It represents the first fossil orthopteran preserved with aposematic coloration from the Mesozoic, demonstrating that orthopterans had evolved aposematism by the Mid-Cretaceous. Our findings provide novel insights into the early evolution of anti-predator strategies among orthopterans. Together with mimesis, debris-carrying camouflage and aposematism previously reported, our findings demonstrate the relative complexity of prey-predator interactions in the Mesozoic, especially in the Mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber forest. This article is part of the theme issue 'The impact of Chinese palaeontology on evolutionary research'.
Topics: Amber; Animals; Biological Mimicry; Fossils; Orthoptera; Paleontology; Predatory Behavior
PubMed: 35124999
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0039 -
Current Opinion in Insect Science Apr 2023Locusts are among the most feared agricultural pests. Spatiotemporal forecasting is a key process in their management. The present review aims to 1) set a common... (Review)
Review
Locusts are among the most feared agricultural pests. Spatiotemporal forecasting is a key process in their management. The present review aims to 1) set a common language on the subject, 2) evaluate the current methodologies, and 3) identify opportunities to improve forecasting tools. Forecasts can be used to provide reliable predictions on locust presence, reproduction events, gregarization areas, population outbreaks, and potential impacts on agriculture. Statistical approaches are used for the first four objectives, whereas mechanistic approaches are used for the latter. We advocate 1) to build reliable and reproducible spatiotemporal forecasting systems for the impacts on agriculture, 2) to turn scientific studies into operational forecasting systems, and 3) to evaluate the performance of these systems.
Topics: Animals; Grasshoppers; Forecasting; Agriculture
PubMed: 36958588
DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101024 -
PeerJ 2023(Zheng, 1982) is a tiny grasshopper endemic to Qinling in China. For further study of its transcriptomic features, we obtained RNA-Seq data by Illumina HiSeq X Ten...
(Zheng, 1982) is a tiny grasshopper endemic to Qinling in China. For further study of its transcriptomic features, we obtained RNA-Seq data by Illumina HiSeq X Ten sequencing platform. Firstly, transcriptomic analysis showed that transcriptome read numbers of two female and one male samples were 25,043,314, 24,429,905, and 25,034,457, respectively. We assembled 65,977 unigenes, their average length was 1,072.09 bp, and the length of N50 was 2,031 bp. The average lengths of female and male unigenes were 911.30 bp, and 941.82 bp, and the N50 lengths were 1,745 bp and 1,735 bp, respectively. Eight databases were used to annotate the functions of unigenes, and 23,268 functional unigenes were obtained. Besides, we also studied the body color, immunity and insecticide resistance of Thirty-nine pigment-related genes were annotated. Some immunity genes and signaling pathways were found, such as JAK-STAT and Toll-LIKE receptor signaling pathways. There are also some insecticide resistance genes and signal pathways, like nAChR, GST and DDT. Further, some of these genes were differentially expressed in female and male samples, including pigment, immunity and insecticide resistance. The transcriptomic study of will provide data reference for gene prediction and molecular expression study of other Tetrigidae species in the future. Differential genetic screening of males and females provides a basis for studying sex and immune balance in insects.
Topics: Animals; Female; Male; Transcriptome; Grasshoppers; Gene Expression Profiling; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; RNA-Seq
PubMed: 37016680
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15123