RNAi of the elastomeric protein resilin reduces jump velocity and resilience to damage in locusts.

ABSTRACT: Resilin, an elastomeric protein with remarkable physical properties that outperforms synthetic rubbers, is a near-ubiquitous feature of the power amplification mechanisms used by jumping insects. Catapult-like mechanisms, which incorporate elastic energy stores formed from a composite of stiff cuticle and resilin, are frequently used by insects to translate slow muscle contractions into rapid-release recoil movements. The precise role of resilin in these jumping mechanisms remains unclear, however. We used RNAi to reduce resilin deposition in the principal energy-storing springs of the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria) before measuring jumping performance. Knockdown reduced the amount of resilin-associated fluorescence in the semilunar processes (SLPs) by 44% and reduced the cro

SUBMITTER: Rogers SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11725850 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature