EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE ON GROWTH AND METAMORPHOSIS OF MOTH FLY TELMATOSCOPUS ALBIPUNCTATUS (DIPTERA, PSYCHODIDAE

Abstract

Caffeine causes severe retardation of growth and development and high mortality of larvae Telmatoscopus albipunctatus. In general, sensitivity to caffeine is inversely proportional to the age of the treated larvae. Adults originating from treated larvae show lower fertility. Treatment of pupae results in elongated abdomens, abnormal wings and reduced fertility in adults. Caffeine also affects adversely polytenization of chromosomes. It is suggested that effects on larval growth and polytenization of chromosomes are due to retardation of DNA synthesis. Other possible mechanisms of action of caffeine are discussed. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG WIRKUNGEN VON KOFFEIN AUF WACHSTUM UND METAMORPHOSE DER SCHMETTERLINGSMÜCKE TELMATOSCOPUS ALBIPUNCTATUS (DIPTERA, PSYCHODIDAE) Koffein verursacht starke Verzögerung von Wachstum und Entwicklung sowie hohe Mortalität der Larven von Telmatoscopus albipunctatus. Im allgemeinen ist die Empfindlichkeit gegenüber Koffein umgekehrt proportional zum Alter der behandelten Larven. Adulte, die als Larven damit behandelt wurden, zeigen verminderte Fertilität. Behandlung von Puppen ergibt Adulte mit verlängertem Abdomen, anormalen Flügeln und verminderter Fertilität. Koffein beeinflußt auch die Polytänisierung der Chromosomen ungünstig. Es wird angenommen, daß die Beeinflussung des Larvenwachstums und der Polytänisierung der Chromosomen zurückzuführen ist auf verzögerte DNS‐Synthese. Es werden sodann andere mögliche Mechanismen der Wirkung des Koffeins diskutiert.

Effects of caffeine and used coffee grounds on biological features of Aedes aegypti (Diptera, Culicidae) and their possible use in alternative control

“…Other observations reinforced the suggestion. Developmental delay due to caffeine intake has also been observed in other organisms such as the Diptera Telmatoscopus albipunctatus (Sehgal et al, 1977) and Drosophila prosaltans (Itoyama and Bicudo, 1992), the mollusk Biomphalaria glabrata (Kawano and Simões, 1987), and rats (Pollard et al, 1987). Data in Drosophila prosaltans (Itoyama et al, 1997) suggested that caffeine treatment increases the duration of the cell division process.…”

“…Results have revealed deleterious effects on the nervous system (Nehlig, 1999;Higure and Nohmi, 2002), on the sensitization of DNA to damage (MacPhee and Leyden, 1985;Pons and Muller, 1990), on the delayed entry of cells into mitosis and on other aspects of cell division (La Pena et al, 1981;Hepler and Bonsignore, 1990;Narayanan et al, 1997;Deplanque et al, 2000), on the development of organisms (Sehgal and Simões, 1976;Sehgal et al, 1977;Kawano and Simões, 1987;Fort et al, 1998;Castellanos and Rapoport, 2002;Burdan, 2003), on fertility (Hewavitharanage et al, 1999), and on chromatin structure (Terasaka and Niitsu, 1987), to mention but a few. Caffeine (CAF) also increased the production of chromosomal damage induced by chemicals or ionizing radiation (Timson, 1977;Targa and Rodriguez, 1982).…”

Caffeine as a novel toxicant for slugs and snails

“…Insect ecologists have incorporated caffeine into insect diets to test hypotheses about plant defenses and the feeding ecology of generalist insect herbivores (Slansky & Wheeler, 1992;Mathavan et al, 1985;Wrubel & Bernays, 1990). Caffeine has been used to induce mutations in bacteria, fungi, higher plants and animals (Sehgal et al, 1977). Caffeine has been proposed as a pesticide and as a synergist for pesticides, but only in reference to insect control (Nathanson, 1984;Wilkins et al, 1995).…”

Effect of coffee on the growth and development of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae

“…A report was obtained for the resistance of coffee seeds to the berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Guerreiro and Mazzafera 2003). Caffeine produced high mortality in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster (Nigsch et al 1977, Zimmering et al 1977) and the moth fly, Telmatoscopus albipunctatus (Sengal et al 1977). It also significantly slowed down the growth and development of the latter species.…”