A unique Malpighian tubule architecture in Tribolium castaneum informs the evolutionary origins of systemic osmoregulation in beetles.

ABSTRACT: Maintaining internal salt and water balance in response to fluctuating external conditions is essential for animal survival. This is particularly true for insects as their high surface-to-volume ratio makes them highly susceptible to osmotic stress. However, the cellular and hormonal mechanisms that mediate the systemic control of osmotic homeostasis in beetles (Coleoptera), the largest group of insects, remain largely unidentified. Here, we demonstrate that eight neurons in the brain of the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum respond to internal changes in osmolality by releasing diuretic hormone (DH) 37 and DH47-homologs of vertebrate corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) hormones-to control systemic water balance. Knockdown of the gene encoding the two hormones (Urinate, Urn8) reduces M

SUBMITTER: Koyama T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8040626 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature