Molecular basis of wax-based color change and UV reflection in dragonflies
Molecular basis of wax-based color change and UV reflection in dragonflies
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DOI：
10.7554/elife.43045
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发表时间：
2019-01-15
期刊：
影响因子：
7.7
通讯作者：
Fukatsu, Takema
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Futahashi, Ryo;Yamahama, Yumi;Fukatsu, Takema
许多动物改变它们的身体颜色是为了发出视觉信号和适应环境。有些蜻蜓表现出蜡基的颜色变化和紫外线（UV）反射，但这些现象背后的生化特性是完全未知的。在这里，我们调查了紫外线反射腹蜡的蜻蜓，从而确定非常长链的甲基酮和醛作为独特的和主要的蜡成分。白柱直眼藓和白柱直眼藓成熟雄虫的背腹主要有密集的蜡质分泌物，而幼成虫的蜡质分泌量较少。成熟雌蛾腹侧有粉霜状蜡分泌物。albistylum和达氏合瓣草Sympetrum darwinianum。比较转录组学表明，脂肪酸延长酶基因家族的成员，其表达反映了非常长链甲基酮的分布的MAPKVL 17基因的急剧上调。人工合成的2-二十五烷酮是蜂蜡的主要成分，它能自发地形成具有强紫外反射的光散射鳞片状精细结构，这表明它在仿生学方面具有潜在的用途。
Many animals change their body color for visual signaling and environmental adaptation. Some dragonflies show wax-based color change and ultraviolet (UV) reflection, but the biochemical properties underlying the phenomena are totally unknown. Here we investigated the UV-reflective abdominal wax of dragonflies, thereby identifying very long-chain methyl ketones and aldehydes as unique and major wax components. Little wax was detected on young adults, but dense wax secretion was found mainly on the dorsal abdomen of mature males of Orthetrum albistylum and O. melania, and pruinose wax secretion was identified on the ventral abdomen of mature females of O. albistylum and Sympetrum darwinianum. Comparative transcriptomics demonstrated drastic upregulation of the ELOVL17 gene, a member of the fatty acid elongase gene family, whose expression reflected the distribution of very long-chain methyl ketones. Synthetic 2-pentacosanone, the major component of dragonfly's wax, spontaneously formed light-scattering scale-like fine structures with strong UV reflection, suggesting its potential utility for biomimetics.