Global Plant Protection News

Wednesday, 10 May 2023 18:30:00

PestNet

Grahame Jackson posted a new submission ‘Study offers explanation for why there are so few insects in the ocean ‘

Submission

Study offers explanation for why there are so few insects in the ocean

Phys.Org

Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have proposed a hypothesis for why insects are so rare in marine environments. They previously showed that insects evolved a unique chemical mechanism to harden their shells that uses molecular oxygen and an enzyme called multicopper oxidase-2 (MCO2). Now, they argue that this gives them a disadvantage in the sea, while it confers advantages that help them on land, placing MCO2 at the heart of insect eco-evolution.

Insects are some of the most successful organisms on the planet. They are said to make up the most biomass of all terrestrial animals and have a significant impact on the global ecosystem. However, their abundance is matched by their startling rarity in the sea. Very few insects call the sea home, even though their biological ancestors came from there. It is a pervading mystery of science, one which scientists have been trying to answer for many years.

Now, researchers from Tokyo Metropolitan University led by Assistant Professor Tsunaki Asano have proposed a solution based on evolutionary genetics. The latest in molecular phylogenetics has taught us that both crustaceans and insects are part of the same family, Pancrustacea, and that insects were a branch that left the sea and adapted to the land. They share an important feature, an exoskeleton consisting of a wax layer and hard cuticle.