The occurrence and significance of the pertirophic membrane, with special reference to adult lepidoptera and diptera.

1953 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 299 ◽  
Author(s):  
DF Waterhouse
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
Midgut Epithelium ◽  
Peritrophic Membrane ◽  
Insect Midgut ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
Restricted Region ◽  
Tubular Membranes

Adults of a number of lepidopterous families and most adult cyclorrhaphous Diptera possess a tubular chitinous peritrophic membrane arising at the level of the oesophageal invagination. Membranes containing chitin, and produced by the general midgut epithelium, are present in adults of some other families of Lepidoptera and in some nematocerous and orthorrhaphous Diptera. In some species of these latter groups (e.g. the blood-sucking females of mosquitoes and tabanids) membranes appear to be mainly formed following ingestion of food and are produced by a restricted region of the general midgut epithelium. Chitin-containing membranes enveloping the food are present also in Thysanura, Embioptera, Mallophaga, Coleoptera (Dermestidae and Carabidae), Mecoptera, and Hymenoptera (some Formicidae). It has been established that the midgut epithelium is able to secrete a chitinous membrane. It is probable that the ancestral insect midgut epithelium possessed the capacity to secrete chitinous membranes enveloping the food. This capacity has been lost in some insects and in others it has been restricted to a particular zone of the midgut. It is possible that the well-defined tubular membranes are the result of the restriction of this capacity to the extreme anterior end of the midgut.

A tubular network associated with the brush-border surface of the Aedes aegypti midgut: implications for pathogen transmission by mosquitoes

2000 ◽  
Vol 203 (10) ◽  
pp. 1599-1611 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Zieler ◽  
C.F. Garon ◽  
E.R. Fischer ◽  
M. Shahabuddin
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Aedes Aegypti ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Blood Feeding ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Midgut Epithelium ◽  
Peritrophic Membrane ◽  
Blood Sucking

The mosquito Aedes aegypti is capable of transmitting a variety of pathogens to man and to other vertebrates. The midgut of this insect has been well-studied both as the tissue where the first contact occurs between ingested pathogens and the insect host, and as a model system for blood meal digestion in blood-sucking insects. To understand better the nature of the midgut surface encountered by parasites or viruses, we used scanning electron microscopy to identify the most prominent structures and cell morphologies on the luminal midgut surface. The luminal side of the midgut is a complex and layered set of structures. The microvilli that are found on most, but not all, cells are covered by a network of fine strands that we have termed the microvilli-associated network (MN). The MN strands are membranous, as shown by a membrane bilayer visible in cross sections of MN strands at high magnification in transmission electron micrographs. The MN is found in blood-fed as well as unfed mosquitoes and is not affected by chitinase treatment, suggesting that it is not related to the chitinous peritrophic membrane that is formed only after blood feeding. The cells in the midgut epithelium have two distinct morphologies: the predominant cell type is densely covered with microvilli, while cells with fewer microvilli are found interspersed throughout the midgut. We used lectins to probe for the presence of carbohydrates on the midgut surface. A large number of lectins bind to the luminal midgut surface, suggesting that a variety of sugar linkages are present on the structures visualized by electron microscopy. Some of these lectins partially block attachment of malaria ookinetes to the midgut surface in vitro. Thus, the mosquito midgut epithelium, like the lining of mammalian intestines, is complex, composed of a variety of cell types and extensively covered with surface carbohydrate that may play a role in pathogen attachment.

An unusual cell surface modification: a double plasma membrane

1979 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 355-372
Author(s):  
N.J. Lane ◽  
J.B. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Plasma Membrane ◽  
Membrane Structure ◽  
Cell Layer ◽  
Peritrophic Membrane ◽  
Thin Sections ◽  
Double Membrane ◽  
Freeze Fracturing ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
Great Pressure ◽  
Insertion Sites

The occurrence of an unusual double plasma membrane structure is reported; it has been studied in conventional thin sections, after lanthanum-impregnation and with freeze-fracturing. This modification of the plasmalemma is found where the luminal cell membrane (I membrane) of gut microvilli in the haematophagous insect, Rhodnius prolixus, is surrounded by a second, outer membrane (O membrane), the 2 separated from one another by a highly regular I-O space of about 10 nm. Lanthanum impregnation reveals the presence of columns inclined at an angle, within this I-O space; as in the continuous junctions which link the lateral borders of these cells, these columns may maintain the very precise I-O distance. From the outer microvillar membranes radiate short spoke-like fibrils or sheets which encounter another more extensive system of myelin-like sheets. Freeze-fracturing reveals that the spoke-like sheets and the other ones which lie like a tube, around and parallel to the microvilli, contain linear ridges composed of particles, lying at random within layers of the myelin-like material which also extends into the lumen of the gut. The microvillar membanes, both O and I, fracture into faces containing rows of either PF particles or EF pits arranged as spiral ridges or grooves around the sides and across the tip of each microbillus. These could be the insertion sites of one or both of the I-O columns and spoke-like sheets while the sheets could represent a variant of peritrophic membrane. The double membrane may be a cellular device to increase the strength of the microvillar layer in these blood-sucking animals, since the cell layer must withstand great pressure owing to a sudden massive extension of the gut during a blood meal.

Insect midgut epithelium in vitro: an insect stem cell system

1996 ◽  
Vol 42 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1103-1111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcia J. Loeb ◽  
Raziel S. Hakim
Keyword(s):  
Stem Cell ◽  
Cell System ◽  
Midgut Epithelium ◽  
Insect Midgut ◽  
Stem Cell System

Memoirs: On the Nature of the Free Cell-Border of certain Mid-Gut Epithelia

1936 ◽  
Vol s2-79 (313) ◽  
pp. 123-150
Author(s):  
G. E. NEWELL ◽  
E. W. BAXTER
Keyword(s):  
Free Surface ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
Brush Border ◽  
Free Cell ◽  
Peritrophic Membrane ◽  
Middle Region ◽  
Cell Border ◽  
Similar Nature ◽  
Brush Borders ◽  
Motile Bacteria

1. The terms cilia, rod-border, brush-border, and other terms used in this paper are defined. 2. The epithelium lining the mid-gut of Melinna is described with special reference to the cell-border. Variation between different regions of the gut are noted. There are two main types of epithelia: (i) ciliated, (ii) rod-bordered. The presence of a peritrophic membrane in the middle region of the stomach is noted. 3. A description of the mid-gutepithelium of Locusta and Chironomus is given, and the essential similarity between the brush-borders of the two is stressed. 4. The ciliated effect described by Vignon in Chironomus is shown to be due to the presence of motile bacteria. 5. Prom a thorough survey of the literature and from our own observations, it is concluded that there are two main types of cell-borders: A. Motile, i.e. ciliated; with which basal corpuscles, derived from division of the centrosomes, are always associated. B. Non-motile.--It is held that these are of two distinct types: (i) Rod-border, where the elements are probably homologous with the basal segments of cilia. This type occurs in Melinna, Lumbricus, and probably in other animals, and it is possible that the striated free border found in the epithelium of the vertebrate intestine is of a somewhat similar nature. (ii) Brush-border, where the elements are simple filaments and bear no relation to cilia. This type is found typically in insects and in a slightly modified condition in the uriniferous tubules of vertebrates. Both motile and non-motile elements lie above the free surface of the cell which is marked by the limiting membrane. 6. Mention is made of the brush-border epithelium of the Malpighian tubiiles of insects.

Determination of parous rates in Phlebotomine sandflies with special reference to Amazonian species

1970 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 209-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Lewis ◽  
R. Lainson ◽  
J. J. Shaw
Keyword(s):  
Life Span ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
Small Error ◽  
Predominant Species ◽  
Accessory Glands ◽  
Blood Sucking ◽  
Phlebotomine Sandflies

Previous work on Phlebotomines has shown that most parous flies in many species may be recognised by the dark residual secretion in the accessory glands; parity can be confirmed by inspection of ovarioles. In the present study 12 species of Lutzomyia were caught in forests near Belém, Brazil, mainly with rodent-baited oil-traps. Many females of the predominant species, L. flaviscutellata (Mangabeira), were parasitised by the protozoan Monocystis. Parous rates based on examination of ovaries were subject to an error of about 5% due to diminution or disappearance of follicular relics. Two successive dilatations of the tunica were seen in L. davisi (Root), suggesting that it had laid two batches of eggs. Biting rates by parous flies varied little during the night, and were somewhat less than those of nullipars. In eight species the dark-gland rate approximated to the parous rate as shown by the ovaries; a small error may have been due to discharge of all secretion, disappearance of follicular relics and premature activity of glands. In contrast to this concordant pattern, four species showed discordance, possibly due to autogeny. It seems advisable to omit oil-trapped blood-fed flies when estimating parous rates by examining glands. Monocystis may increase the dark-gland rate, but it is non-pathogenic or has little effect on life span, and does not hinder blood-sucking.

scholarly journals The Rate of Production of the Peritrophic Membrane in Some Insects

1954 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
DF Waterhouse
Keyword(s):  
Midgut Epithelium ◽  
Peritrophic Membrane

Feeding zygopterous (damsel-fly) nymphs produced peritrophic membranes at a rate of about three per day. Each membrane is secreted by the entire midgut epithelium and varies in length according to the degree of distension of the midgut by food. Starving nymphs evacuated empty membranes at a slower rate (about 1 per day) ,until death.

Memoirs: The Formation of the Peritrophic Membrane in Insects, with Special Reference to the Larvae of Mosquitoes

1930 ◽  
Vol s2-73 (292) ◽  
pp. 593-616
Author(s):  
V. B. WIGGLESWORTH
Keyword(s):  
Special Reference ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Tenebrio Molitor ◽  
Peritrophic Membrane ◽  
Sitotroga Cerealella ◽  
Blatella Germanica ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Ephestia Kühniella

In the larvae of mosquitoes (Anopheles, Culex, and Aedes) the secretion from the cells of the cardia, in the proventriculus, is drawn through an annular press and thereby moulded to form the peritrophic membrane. The mechanism of this press has been described in detail. It seems probable that, throughout the Diptera, the peritrophic membrane is formed by similar mechanisms. Figures are given of those in the larvae of Sciara (Cecedomyidae), Rhyphus (Rhyphidae), and Telmatoscopus (Psychodidae). Analogous structures (a zone of secreting cells in connexion with an annular press) have been found in most of the main orders of insects, as follows : Hymenoptera [adult of Bombus and Apis and the larva of a saw-fly (Tenthredinidae)]; Coleoptera [larva of the mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) and the adult of Coccinella]; Lepidoptera [larvae of Cheimabacche fagella (Oecophoridae), Sitotroga cerealella (Gelechiadae) and Ephestia kuhniella (Pyralidae)]; Aphaniptera (larva of Ceratophyllus wickhami); Isoptera; Neuroptera (adult of Hemerobius); Odonata (larva of Aeschna); Orthoptera (Blatella germanica); and Dermaptera. In every case, in addition to its function as a press, the so-called ‘oesophageal valve’ was found to act not as a valve but as a sphincter. In the honey-bee (Apis), the larva of the dragon-fly (Aeschna), and possibly in other insects, indefinite membranes are shed off by the cells farther back in the mid-gut, and added to those produced in the annular press. In all the insects examined, chitin formed the basis of the peritrophic membrane. The observations recorded give a coherent significance to much of the previous work on the subject, which, before, appeared contradictory.

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