Exploring unique osmoregulatory adaptations in a globally devastating insect pest

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Beetles are small in size and have large surface area (relative to their volume) which makes them prone to desiccation, and yet many species can live and thrive in very dry habitats, such as deserts. It is therefore unsurprising that they possess efficient ways to regulate their water budget. Some species are so efficient in conserving water they are able to live without access to drinking water. This is true for a species known as the red flour beetle, which lives its entire lifecycle in dry flour. Such is its success at living in these conditions the red flour beetle has risen to become a globally distributed and devastating agricultural pest. While it is clear beetles are extraordinarily well equipped to survive in dry habitats, the underlying reasons that allow them to do so are not. The main organs that control water balance in insects is known, but it appears that these organs in beetles are arranged and function in a radically different way compared to all other insects. The overarching aim of this proposal is to understand how these organs form and function. Our project focuses on the organs that control water budget. We will determine how they function by creating an atlas of the cells they contain. This atlas, based on the types of genes that are differentially expressed between cells, will allow us to predict cell functions and provide clues to which genes are important for these functions. We will carry out similar experiments during development to illuminate the mechanisms underpinning the generation of these organs. We are able to manipulate the activity of specific genes, which allows us to understand the role of a particular gene and its product in controlling how the organs form and function, and ultimately how this effects the beetle's water budget. We will extend our analyses by comparing the flour beetle to the fruit fly to help pinpoint similarities and differences between species that will provide clues to how these differences arose during organ evolution. The work will generate knowledge that will transform our understanding of the largest animal group on the planet, and specifically about a widespread and devastating pest species. The work has the potential to lead to novel pest control approaches.