Chlorophylls, the most prominent natural pigments, are part of the daily diet of herbivorous insects. The spectrum of ingested and digested chlorophyll metabolites compares well to the pattern of early chlorophyll-degradation products in senescent plants. Intact chlorophyll is rapidly degraded by proteins in the front- and midgut. Unlike plants, insects convert both chlorophyll a and b into the corresponding catabolites. MALDI-TOF/MS imaging allowed monitoring the distribution of the chlorophyll catabolites along the gut of Spodoptera littoralis larvae. The chlorophyll degradation in the fore- and mid-gut is strongly pH dependent, and requires alkaline conditions. Using LC-MS/MS analysis we identified a lipocalin-type protein in the intestinal fluid of S. littoralis homolog to the chlorophyllide a binding protein from Bombyx mori. Widefield and high-resolution autofluorescence microscopy revealed that the brush border membranes are covered with the chlorophyllide binding protein tightly bound via its GPI-anchor to the gut membrane. A function in defense against gut microbes is discussed.
CITATION STYLE
Badgaa, A., Büchler, R., Wielsch, N., Walde, M., Heintzmann, R., Pauchet, Y., … Boland, W. (2015). The Green Gut: Chlorophyll Degradation in the Gut of Spodoptera littoralis. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 41(11), 965–974. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-015-0636-0
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