Exploring unique osmoregulatory adaptations in a globally devastating insect pest

甲虫体型小，表面积大(相对于它们的体积)，这使得它们容易干燥，但许多物种可以在非常干燥的栖息地生活和繁衍，例如沙漠。因此，它们拥有有效的方法来调节水资源预算也就不足为奇了。一些物种在节约用水方面非常有效，他们能够在没有饮用水的情况下生存。对于一种被称为红粉甲虫的物种来说就是如此，它的整个生命周期都是在干粉中度过的。这就是它在这些条件下生活的成功之处。红粉甲虫已经上升为一种全球分布的毁灭性农业害虫。虽然甲虫显然具备在干燥的栖息地生存的特殊条件，但允许它们这样做的潜在原因却并非如此。控制昆虫体内水分平衡的主要器官是已知的，但甲虫体内这些器官的排列和功能似乎与所有其他昆虫完全不同。这项提议的首要目标是了解这些器官是如何形成和发挥作用的。我们的项目关注的是控制水预算的机构。我们将通过创建它们所包含的细胞的图谱来确定它们是如何工作的。这一图谱基于细胞之间差异表达的基因类型，将使我们能够预测细胞功能，并提供哪些基因对这些功能重要的线索。我们将在发育过程中进行类似的实验，以阐明支持这些器官生成的机制。我们能够操纵特定基因的活动，这使我们能够了解特定基因及其产物在控制器官形成和功能方面的作用，以及最终如何影响甲虫的水分收支。我们将通过比较面粉甲虫和果蝇来扩展我们的分析，以帮助精确定位物种之间的相似和差异，这将为这些差异是如何在器官进化过程中产生的提供线索。这项工作将产生一些知识，这些知识将改变我们对地球上最大的动物群体的理解，特别是对一种广泛存在的毁灭性有害物种的理解。这项工作有可能带来新的虫害控制方法。

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.