Time Required for Food Passage through the Alimentary Tract of the Cockroach, Periplaneta Americana Linn.

Snipes, B. Thomas; Tauber, Oscar E.

doi:10.1093/aesa/30.2.277

Cited by 25 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…However, this was probably a result of a decreased rate of food movement through the gut. Normally, food particles can have a residence time in the foregut of P. americana of over 100 h (24). In contrast, food can still be found in the crop (foregut) of starved insects after 2 months (9).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of host diet on production of organic acids and methane by cockroach gut bacteria

Kane

Breznak

1991

Appl Environ Microbiol

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The effect of high-fiber diets on microbial populations and processes in cockroach guts was investigated by feeding American cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) milled cereal leaves, milled corn cob, or commercial bran-type breakfast cereal in place of the commonly used laboratory diet of dog chow. The activities and numbers of specific gut bacteria varied significantly with the insect's diet and developmental stage. Acetate and lactate were the principal organic acids present in the gut fluid of adult cockroaches and occurred at concentrations of up to 17 and 8 mM, respectively. These acids were most abundant in the gut fluid of dog chow-fed insects, and the greatest amounts were generally found in the foregut and midgut regions. Foreguts of dog chow-fed cockroaches contained an abundant population of lactic acid bacteria that formed acetate and lactate from endogenous hexoses present in the foregut. When adult cockroaches were fed dog chow amended with antibacterial drugs, (i) the concentrations of acetate, lactate, and total hexoses in gut fluid decreased significantly, (ii) the numbers of lactic acid bacteria in the foregut also decreased significantly, and (iii) the production of acetate and lactate by foregut homogenates was suppressed. It was estimated that acetate and lactate produced by bacteria in the foregut of dog chow-fed adult P. americana could support up to 14% of the insect's respiratory requirement if taken up and used by the animal. When insects were fed high-fiber diets of bran cereal, cereal leaves, or corn cob, bacterial production of acetate and lactate in the foregut diminished. The main terminal electron sink processes accompanying gut fermentation in P. americana were microbial reduction of CO2 to CH4, to formate, and to acetate. Methanogenesis occurred exclusively in the hindgut region and was favored when insects were fed high-fiber diets. This was particularly true for larvae, which generally emitted more CH4 per gram (fresh weight) than adults. In contrast, formico-and acetogenesis from CO2 were favored when cockroaches were fed the low-fiber, dog chow diet. These results indicate that host diet has a significant effect on the intestinal microbiota of P. americana and its activities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of host diet on production of organic acids and methane by cockroach gut bacteria

Kane

Breznak

1991

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…Something is known about food movement in insects. Snipes & Tauber (1937) studied Periplaneta americana, Wedberg & Clarke (1947) Blaberus cranifer, and Sinha (1958) the stored-grain beetle, but these insects were starved for a period before the experimental feeding. This was considered undesirable for the present investigation because nothing appears to be known about the effects of starvation on food movement.…”

Section: Rate Of Food Movement Through the Worm Intestinementioning

confidence: 99%

Micro-Organisms in the Intestines of Earthworms

Parle¹

1963

Journal of General Microbiology

203

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Actinomycetes and bacteria, but not fungi, increase rapidly in numbers during the passage of food through the worm gut. Enzymes produced by the worm rather than micro-organisms seem to be the main agents digesting cellulose and chitin. The rate that material moves through the intestine depends on whether the animal is feeding; food takes about 20 hr. to pass, but when burrows are being formed material passes in about 12 hr.

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“…Snipes and Tauber (1937) and Snipes (1938) have studied the rate of passage of food through the gut of Periplaneta, and the effect of various poisons on it. They were mainly concerned with egestion time, that is, the period from ingestion to the passage of faecal pellets, but Snipes gives some data on the time taken for banana paste to reach various points in the gut.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Study of the Processes of Digestion in Certain Insects

Day¹,

Powning²

1949

Aust. Jnl. Of Bio. Sci.

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SummarySeveral aspects of the processes of digestion in the insects Blattella germanica, Periplaneta americana, and Tenebrio molitor are reported. In Blattella starved for 2 days, a meal of coloured starch reaches the midgut within 10 minutes and the rectum within 5 hours. The pH of the gut contents on a starch diet is approximately 4.5 in the crop, 6.0 in the midgut, and 8.0 in the hindgut. A protein diet raises the pH of the crop to about 6.0, but does not change that of the other regions. There is a gradient of decreasing redox potential from the crop to the hindgut where the Eh approximates -0.1 V. at pH 8.0.Concurrent quantitative enzyme estimations and cytological investigations on Blattella have proved that the presence of cytoplasmic globules, hitherto generally referred to as cytological evidence of secretory activity, is not associated with an increase in enzyme concentration in the gut contents. The greatest enzyme concentrations are found when the cytoplasm is cytologically uniform. The secretory globules are more probably signs of cell breakdown than an indication of secretory activity.Digestive enzymes are still present in Blattella midgut contents after 3 days' starvation, but the enzymes studied increase in concentration when the insect is fed, irrespective of the diet. A digestive enzyme of Blattella decreases in amount when the insect is fed a diet of that particular enzyme substrate for some time. The enzyme concentration is fairly slow to regain its former level.Evidence is presented that stimulation of epithelial regeneration of the midgut of Tenebrio is effected by a factor carried in the blood. There is some evidence, mainly morphological, against the nervous control of midgut secretion.A study of the localization of various substances shows that different materials may be absorbed in different regions of the gut. Fore-, mid-, and hindguts, and the midgut caeca m~y all be involved in absorption. The histopathology of a number of insecticides suggests that, except for arsenic compounds, changes produced in the midgut are not sufficient to account for death of the insect.

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Time Required for Food Passage through the Alimentary Tract of the Cockroach, Periplaneta Americana Linn.

Cited by 25 publications

References 0 publications

Effect of host diet on production of organic acids and methane by cockroach gut bacteria

Effect of host diet on production of organic acids and methane by cockroach gut bacteria

Micro-Organisms in the Intestines of Earthworms

A Study of the Processes of Digestion in Certain Insects

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