QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

First published online January 16, 2009
Journal of Experimental Biology 212, 424-428 (2009)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2009
doi: 10.1242/jeb.024091

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in JEB Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Contreras, H. L. Articles by Bradley, T. J. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Contreras, H. L. Articles by Bradley, T. J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Metabolic rate controls respiratory pattern in insects

H. L. Contreras^* and T. J. Bradley

University of California Irvine, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, 5205 McGaugh Hall, Irvine, CA 92697, USA

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: hcontrer{at}uci.edu)

Accepted 25 September 2008

The majority of scientific papers on the subject of respiratory patterns in insects have dealt with the discontinuous gas-exchange cycle (DGC). The DGC is characterized by the release of bursts of CO₂ from the insect, followed by extended periods of spiracular closure. Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain the evolutionary origin and physiological function of this unusual respiratory pattern. We expand upon one of these (the oxidative damage hypothesis) to explain not only the occurrence of the DGC but also the mechanistic basis for the transition to two other well-characterized respiratory patterns: the cyclic pattern and the continuous pattern. We propose that the specific pattern employed by the insect at any given time is a function of the amount of oxygen contained in the insect at the time of spiracular closure and the aerobic metabolic rate of the insect. Examples of each type of pattern are shown using the insect Rhodnius prolixus. In addition, contrary to the expectations deriving from the hygric hypothesis, it is demonstrated that the DGC does not cease in Rhodnius in humid air.

Key words: insect respiration, cyclic, continuous, DGC, Rhodnius, metabolic rate

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

Related articles in JEB:

SIMON MADDRELL AND 50 YEARS OF INSECT HOMEOSTASIS

Kathryn Knight
JEB 2009 212: i. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. M. Williams, S. L. Pelini, J. J. Hellmann, and B. J. Sinclair Intra-individual variation allows an explicit test of the hygric hypothesis for discontinuous gas exchange in insects Biol Lett, November 18, 2009; (2009) rsbl.2009.0803v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]