Aspects of the metabolism of amino acids in the tsetse fly, Glossina (Diptera)

Bursell, E.

doi:10.1016/0022-1910(63)90054-4

Cited by 217 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Rogers (1984) estimated feeding rates by assuming a constant capture probability once feeding started, and estimated capture probabilities by assuming there was no feeding before the time indicated by the discontinuity. There is no a priori justification for either assumption; the anomalies detailed above cast some doubt on A new model for blood-meal metabolism by tsetse flies Bursell's (1963) data on the change in fat content with time (0 after feeding suggested that blood-meal metabolism might be regarded as a series of first order reactions Bursell's (1963) data for laboratory G. m. morsitans. The standard deviations of the parameters k v k 2 and B o are 5-7% of the estimates (table 2); F o is predicted with less precision, but still within 50 \ig of the true value.…”

Section: Haematin-specific Fat Levelsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…The results from these two runs, and from the fit where only the refuge data were used, gave substantially the same estimates (table 2). The model explains much less of the variance in the field data than for Bursell's (1963) laboratory data, but the latter were for pooled samples. When fitted to the mean fat values for G. pallidipes from refuges, pooled in 0.05 log haematin units, the model accounted for 98% of the variance.…”

Section: Haematin-specific Fat Levelsmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Nutritional states of male tsetse flies (Glossina spp.) (Diptera: Glossinidae) caught in odour-baited traps and artificial refuges: models for feeding and digestion

Hargrove

Packer

1993

Bull. Entomol. Res.

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Male Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood and Glossina pallidipes Austen caught in artificial refuges in Zimbabwe had ca. six times as much haematin and up to 32% more fat than flies from odour-baited traps, but haematinspecific fat levels did not differ significantly between methods. G. pallidipes estimated to have fed < 9 h prior to sampling contained ca. 3.3 mg fat -only 10% less than peak levels. A differential equation model for blood-meal metabolism was developed which described well the changes in fat levels of laboratory G. m. morsitans and the relationship between fat and log haematin in field data. The model predicts a mean feeding interval (T) of 54 -65 h and mean fat levels of ca. 2.8 mg for G. pallidipes at feeding. When haematin frequency data were analysed as suggested in the literature, estimates of feeding rates and intervals, and of the non-feeding phase, varied with sampling method. Published estimates of activity levels related to feeding suggest a model where feeding rates increase approximately linearly during the trophic cycle. For T = 58 h the model gives good predictions of mean fat levels and variances in both species, with starvation rates < 1%/day. Models with long non-feeding phases predict fat levels up to 40% lower than observed and with smaller variances. For constant feeding rates, fat levels were well predicted for T = 54 h, but predicted death rates (> 5%/day due to starvation alone) were impossibly high. It is suggested that a proportion of tsetse flies with high fat levels feed on mobile hosts early in the trophic cycle and that this effect is more marked for G. m. morsitans than for G. pallidipes. Over-estimates of T result from the failure to consider these tsetse flies and not to errors in the assumed time scale, nor failure to catch high-fat tsetse flies which visit stationary traps.

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Section: Haematin-specific Fat Levelsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Haematin-specific Fat Levelsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Nutritional states of male tsetse flies (Glossina spp.) (Diptera: Glossinidae) caught in odour-baited traps and artificial refuges: models for feeding and digestion

Hargrove

Packer

1993

Bull. Entomol. Res.

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“…By contrast, some blood-feeding insects use the amino acid proline as their main fuel even though most animals avoid relying on proteins. This unique strategy has been well documented in the tsetse fly [5,6], whereas other species such as the honeybee (Apis mellifera) are thought to have become exclusive carbohydrate users, probably because of the high intensity of hovering flight and dietary specialization [7]. The honeybee has become the poster child for all bees, a group estimated at over 20 000 species [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Proline as a fuel for insect flight: enhancing carbohydrate oxidation in hymenopterans

et al. 2016

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Bees are thought to be strict users of carbohydrates as metabolic fuel for flight. Many insects, however, have the ability to oxidize the amino acid proline at a high rate, which is a unique feature of this group of animals. The presence of proline in the haemolymph of bees and in the nectar of plants led to the hypothesis that plants may produce proline as a metabolic reward for pollinators. We investigated flight muscle metabolism of hymenopteran species using high-resolution respirometry performed on permeabilized muscle fibres. The muscle fibres of the honeybee, Apis mellifera, do not have a detectable capacity to oxidize proline, as those from the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, used here as an outgroup representative. The closely related bumblebee, Bombus impatiens, can oxidize proline alone and more than doubles its respiratory capacity when proline is combined with carbohydrate-derived substrates. A distant wasp species, Vespula vulgaris, exhibits the same metabolic phenotype as the bumblebee, suggesting that proline oxidation is common in hymenopterans. Using a combination of mitochondrial substrates and inhibitors, we further show that in B. impatiens, proline oxidation provides reducing equivalents and electrons directly to the electron transport system. Together, these findings demonstrate that some bee and wasp species can greatly enhance the oxidation of carbohydrates using proline as fuel for flight.

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“…Several studies indicate that certain amino acids play a role as energy source during flight. Proline is used as a main substrate for flight metabolism in the tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans (BURSELL, 1963(BURSELL, , 1966(BURSELL, , 1978 as well as in the Colorado beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (MORDUE and DE KORT, 1978;BROUWERS and DE KORT, 1979;WEEDA et aL, 1979). Mitochondria isolated from the flight muscle of the latter insect display high rates of respiration with proline (DE KORT et al, 1973 andWEEDA et al, 1980), and alanine appeared to be the end product (WEEDA et al, 1980).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%