Digestion is the breakdown of large insoluble food compounds into small water-soluble components so that they can be absorbed into the blood plasma. In certain organisms, these smaller substances are absorbed through the small intestine into the blood stream. Digestion is a form of catabolism that is often divided into two processes based on how food is broken down: mechanical and chemical digestion. The term mechanical digestion refers to the physical breakdown of large pieces of food into smaller pieces which can subsequently be accessed by digestive enzymes. Mechanical digestion takes place in the mouth through mastication and in the small intestine through segmentation contractions. In chemical digestion, enzymes break down food into the small compounds that the body can use.
Hemolymph, or haemolymph, is a fluid, analogous to the blood in vertebrates, that circulates in the interior of the arthropod (invertebrate) body, remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues. It is composed of a fluid plasma in which hemolymph cells called hemocytes are suspended. In addition to hemocytes, the plasma also contains many chemicals. It is the major tissue type of the open circulatory system characteristic of arthropods. In addition, some non-arthropods such as mollusks possess a hemolymphatic circulatory system.
The longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae), also known as long-horned or longicorns, are a large family of beetles, with over 35,000 species described.
Digestive enzymes are a group of enzymes that break down polymeric macromolecules into their smaller building blocks, in order to facilitate their absorption into the cells of the body. Digestive enzymes are found in the digestive tracts of animals and in the tracts of carnivorous plants, where they aid in the digestion of food, as well as inside cells, especially in their lysosomes, where they function to maintain cellular survival. Digestive enzymes of diverse specificities are found in the saliva secreted by the salivary glands, in the secretions of cells lining the stomach, in the pancreatic juice secreted by pancreatic exocrine cells, and in the secretions of cells lining the small and large intestines.
Lingual lipase is a member of a family of digestive enzymes called triacylglycerol lipases, EC 3.1.1.3, that use the catalytic triad of aspartate, histidine, and serine to hydrolyze medium and long-chain triglycerides into partial glycerides and free fatty acids. The enzyme, released into the mouth along with the saliva, catalyzes the first reaction in the digestion of dietary lipid, with diglycerides being the primary reaction product. However, due to the unique characteristics of lingual lipase, including a pH optimum 4.5–5.4 and its ability to catalyze reactions without bile salts, the lipolytic activity continues through to the stomach. Enzyme release is signaled by autonomic nervous system after ingestion, at which time the serous glands under the circumvallate and foliate lingual papillae on the surface of the tongue secrete lingual lipase to the grooves of the circumvallate and foliate papillae, co-localized with fat taste receptors. The hydrolysis of the dietary fats is essential for fat absorption by the small intestine, as long chain triacylglycerides cannot be absorbed, and as much as 30% of fat is hydrolyzed within 1 to 20 minutes of ingestion by lingual lipase alone.
Lipid metabolism is the synthesis and degradation of lipids in cells, involving the breakdown and storage of fats for energy and the synthesis of structural and functional lipids, such as those involved in the construction of cell membranes. In animals, these fats are obtained from food and are synthesized by the liver. Lipogenesis is the process of synthesizing these fats. The majority of lipids found in the human body from ingesting food are triglycerides and cholesterol. Other types of lipids found in the body are fatty acids and membrane lipids. Lipid metabolism is often considered the digestion and absorption process of dietary fat; however, there are two sources of fats that organisms can use to obtain energy: from consumed dietary fats and from stored fat. Vertebrates use both sources of fat to produce energy for organs such as the heart to function. Since lipids are hydrophobic molecules, they need to be solubilized before their metabolism can begin. Lipid metabolism often begins with hydrolysis, which occurs with the help of various enzymes in the digestive system. Lipid metabolism also occurs in plants, though the processes differ in some ways when compared to animals. The second step after the hydrolysis is the absorption of the fatty acids into the epithelial cells of the intestinal wall. In the epithelial cells, fatty acids are packaged and transported to the rest of the body.
Hormone-sensitive lipase (EC 3.1.1.79, HSL), also previously known as cholesteryl ester hydrolase (CEH), sometimes referred to as triacylglycerol lipase, is an enzyme that, in humans, is encoded by the LIPE gene, and catalyzes the following reaction:
Insect physiology includes the physiology and biochemistry of insect organ systems.
Macrodontia is an American genus of long-horned beetles remarkable for their large size and for the large mandibles of the males in particular.
Spondylidinae are a small subfamily of Cerambycidae including slightly over 100 species, primarily in the coniferous forests of the Boreal hemisphere. A few species occur in coniferous forests in tropical and subtropical areas, while very few genera are present in Austral Africa and Madagascar. Some sources spell the name as Spondylinae.
The Disteniidae are a small family of beetles in the superfamily Chrysomeloidea, traditionally treated as a group within the Cerambycidae.
Fat globules are individual pieces of intracellular fat in human cell biology. The lipid droplet's function is to store energy for the organism's body and is found in every type of adipocytes. They can consist of a vacuole, droplet of triglyceride, or any other blood lipid, as opposed to fat cells in between other cells in an organ. They contain a hydrophobic core and are encased in a phospholipid monolayer membrane. Due to their hydrophobic nature, lipids and lipid digestive derivatives must be transported in the globular form within the cell, blood, and tissue spaces.
Discontinuous gas-exchange cycles (DGC), also called discontinuous ventilation or discontinuous ventilatory cycles, follow one of several patterns of arthropod gas exchange that have been documented primarily in insects; they occur when the insect is at rest. During DGC, oxygen (O2) uptake and carbon dioxide (CO2) release from the whole insect follow a cyclical pattern characterized by periods of little to no release of CO2 to the external environment. Discontinuous gas exchange is traditionally defined in three phases, whose names reflect the behaviour of the spiracles: the closed phase, the flutter phase, and the open phase.
Desiccation tolerance refers to the ability of an organism to withstand or endure extreme dryness, or drought-like conditions. Plants and animals living in arid or periodically arid environments such as temporary streams or ponds may face the challenge of desiccation, therefore physiological or behavioral adaptations to withstand these periods are necessary to ensure survival. In particular, insects occupy a wide range of ecologically diverse niches and, so, exhibit a variety of strategies to avoid desiccation.
Insect morphology is the study and description of the physical form of insects. The terminology used to describe insects is similar to that used for other arthropods due to their shared evolutionary history. Three physical features separate insects from other arthropods: they have a body divided into three regions, three pairs of legs, and mouthparts located outside of the head capsule. This position of the mouthparts divides them from their closest relatives, the non-insect hexapods, which include Protura, Diplura, and Collembola.
Pirinixic acid is a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) agonist that is under experimental investigation for prevention of severe cardiac dysfunction, cardiomyopathy and heart failure as a result of lipid accumulation within cardiac myocytes. Treatment is primarily aimed at individuals with an adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) enzyme deficiency or mutation because of the essential PPAR protein interactions with free fatty acid monomers derived from the ATGL catalyzed lipid oxidation reaction. It was discovered as WY-14,643 in 1974.
An insect's respiratory system is the system with which it introduces respiratory gases to its interior and performs gas exchange.
A diglyceride, or diacylglycerol (DAG), is a glyceride consisting of two fatty acid chains covalently bonded to a glycerol molecule through ester linkages. Two possible forms exist, 1,2-diacylglycerols and 1,3-diacylglycerols. Diglycerides are natural components of food fats, though minor in comparison to triglycerides. DAGs can act as surfactants and are commonly used as emulsifiers in processed foods. DAG-enriched oil has been investigated extensively as a fat substitute due to its ability to suppress the accumulation of body fat; with total annual sales of approximately USD 200 million in Japan since its introduction in the late 1990s till 2009.
The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion. Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components, until they can be absorbed and assimilated into the body. The process of digestion has three stages: the cephalic phase, the gastric phase, and the intestinal phase.
Cacosceles newmannii is a species of longhorned beetle in the family Cerambycidae native to Southern Africa. Its natural host plants have not yet been fully determined, but may include species from the family Myrtaceae, and it has started to become a pest of sugarcane crops. It is assumed that its life cycle lasts two years, during which the larvae feed on organic matter.
