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Nutritional status alters the lipidome of a bethylid wasp incapable of de novo lipogenesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2015

C.J.P. Snart
Affiliation:
Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, LE12 5RD, UK Centrefor Analytical Bioscience, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
A. Kapranas
Affiliation:
Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, LE12 5RD, UK
D.A. Barrett
Affiliation:
Centrefor Analytical Bioscience, School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
I.C.W. Hardy
Affiliation:
Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, LE12 5RD, UK
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Abstract

Type
Abstract
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2015 

Physiological status is greatly influenced by the quality of available nutrient uptake. Nutrient acquisition strategies vary across insect parasitoids, including host feeding and the ingestion of environmental sugars( Reference Olson, Fadamiro, Lundgren and Heimpel 1 ). Hymenopteran parasitoids do not possess de novo lipogenesis( Reference Visser and Ellers 2 ) and are limited to lipids obtained during larval development. However, parasitoid lifespan and fecundity is enhanced by carbohydrate intake( Reference Ellers 3 ). Using a metabolomics approach and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) we aim to assess the effects of dietary treatments on the lipidome of the parasitoid wasp Goniozus legneri.

Adult female G. legneri were isolated and either starved or provided with a honey diet for 7 days (n = 20 per treatment), then frozen in liquid nitrogen. Individual wasps were extracted using a modified methanol-chloroform-water solvent methodology and concentrated prior to LC-MS analysis. Fragmentation patterns of differential lipids were generated using LC-MS-MS to aid identification. Differentiation between classes was determined by combined PCA/OPLS-DA and validated with a one-way logistic ANOVA.

Fig. 1. OPLS-DA analysis of MS samples of honey-fed and starved G. legneri.

Fig. 2. Differential triglyceride levels between honey-fed and starved G. legneri.

A total of 38 differential ions were identified in positive ESI mode (logistic ANOVA with Bonferoni correction: P < 0·05, df = 2,37), consisting of 37 upregulated amongst honey-fed and 1 in starved G. legneri. Differential lipids strongly associated with honey-fed wasps were large storage glycerolipids, including 25 unique triglycerides. Remaining honey-treatment associated differential lipids are comprised of digycerides and phospholipids. The single upregulated lipid in starved wasp samples was identified as a phosphocholine. In conclusion, adult female G. legneri can utilise simple carbohydrates as an energy source, and as a result, may be capable of preserving storage lipids for maintenance and egg allocation.

This work was supported by the BBSRC and a Marie Curie fellowship awarded by the European Commission.

References

1. Olson, DM, Fadamiro, H, Lundgren, JG and Heimpel, GE (2000) Physiol Entomol 25, 1726.Google Scholar
2. Visser, B and Ellers, J (2008) J Insect Physiol 54, 13151322.Google Scholar
3. Ellers, (1996) Neth J Zool 46, 227235.Google Scholar
Figure 0

Fig. 1. OPLS-DA analysis of MS samples of honey-fed and starved G. legneri.

Figure 1

Fig. 2. Differential triglyceride levels between honey-fed and starved G. legneri.