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A dual symbiosis supports cuticle formation in wood-feeding beetles
Phys.Org
by Max Planck Society
Beetles usually rely on the help of bacterial partners to survive. These symbioses can have different functions. Bacterial symbionts may help digest plant material, make the beetles more resistant to plant defenses, or provide supplemental nutrients when beetles as an adaption to nutrient-poor habitats. In several beetle species, it has already been described that their bacterial allies provide important components for the formation of the cuticle, the insect’s exoskeleton.
“Studies on the importance of beetle symbionts for the recycling of nitrogen and the synthesis of certain amino acids as key components for stabilizing the cuticle are still a young field of research,” says Julian Kiefer from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), the first author of the study.
A strong and sturdy cuticle as a key adaptation to adverse biotic and abiotic factors
The cuticle, a hard armor composed of cross-linked protein and chitin polymers, is the primary defense of insects against predators and pathogens, but also averse abiotic factors such as extremely dry environments.
Read on: https://phys.org/news/2023-04-dual-symbiosis-cuticle-formation-wood-feeding.html
Symbiosis
Global Plant Protection News 
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