Brontocoris tabidus (Signoret) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) is an obligate zoophytophagous predator because its population can be maintained in the laboratory when fed on both prey and plants. We evaluated ultrastructural changes in the midgut digestive cells of adult B. tabidus, subjected to different treatments (starvation or feeding on plant material and prey) for different periods. Their midguts were dissected, divided into anterior, medium and posterior sections, processed, and analyzed with light and transmission electron microscopy. The anterior region of the midgut of B. tabidus, starved or fed on eucalyptus leaves, contained no glycogen. B. tabidus fed on plant material showed multivesicular bodies in this region, and spherocrystals after 6 h of feeding on prey. The microvilli of the medium midgut were longer than those of the anterior and posterior midgut. The posterior midgut differed from the other two regions by an abundance of mitochondria, rough endoplasmatic reticulum and double membrane vesicles in the apical region, 6 h after feeding. The ultrastructural features of the digestive cells in the anterior, medium and posterior regions of the midgut suggest that they play a role in digestive enzyme synthesis, ion and nutrient absorption, and storage and excretion of substances.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 January 2009
Ultrastructure of the Digestive Cells in the Midgut of the PredatorBrontocoris Tabidus (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) After Different Feeding Periods on Prey and Plants
Maria Do Carmo Q. Fialho,
José C. Zanuncio,
Clóvis A. Neves,
Francisco S. Ramalho,
José Eduardo Serrão
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
It is not available for individual sale.
This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
It is not available for individual sale.
Annals of the Entomological Society of America
Vol. 102 • No. 1
January 2009
Vol. 102 • No. 1
January 2009
midgut
starvation
ultrastructure
zoophytophagous