Divergent nucleic acid allocation in juvenile insects of different metamorphosis modes.

ABSTRACT: Nucleic acids help clarify variation in species richness of insects having different metamorphosis modes, a biological conundrum. Here we analyse nucleic acid contents of 639 specimens of aquatic insects collected from four high mountain streams of Sierra Nevada in southern Spain to test whether the allocation to RNA or DNA content differs during ontogeny between juvenile insects undergoing direct (hemimetabolous) or indirect (holometabolous) metamorphosis. The results show that RNA content as a function of body mass was negatively correlated to insect body length in four out of six and three out of six of the holometabolan and hemimetabolan taxa, respectively. Although no significant differences in RNA content were found between holometabolans and hemimetabolans, the significant interacti

SUBMITTER: Villar-Argaiz M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8119467 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature