Adaptations against heme toxicity in blood-feeding arthropods.
Insect Biochem Mol Biol
; 36(4): 322-35, 2006 Apr.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-16551546
A blood-sucking habit appeared independently several times in the course of arthropod evolution. However, from more than a million species of insects and arachnids presently living on earth, only about 14,000 species developed the capacity to feed on vertebrate blood. This figure suggests the existence of severe physiological constraints for the evolution of hematophagy, implying the selective advantage of special adaptations related to the use of blood as a food source. Digestion of vertebrate hemoglobin in the midgut of blood-feeding arthropods results in the production of large amounts of heme, a potentially cytotoxic molecule. Here we will review mechanisms by which heme can exert biological damage, together with a wide spectrum of adaptations developed by blood-feeding insects and ticks to counteract its deleterious effects. In spite of the existence of a great molecular diversity of protective mechanisms, different hematophagous organisms developed convergent solutions that may be physiologically equivalent.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Artrópodes
/
Adaptação Fisiológica
/
Heme
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Insect Biochem Mol Biol
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
/
BIOQUIMICA
Ano de publicação:
2006
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Brasil
País de publicação:
Reino Unido