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New results concerning the breakdown of wool by moth and beetle larvae
Author(s) -
Hammers Ingrid,
Schmid Werner,
Föhles Josef,
Zahn Helmut
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
journal of the society of dyers and colourists
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.297
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1478-4408
pISSN - 0037-9859
DOI - 10.1111/j.1478-4408.1987.tb01114.x
Subject(s) - cystine , larva , insect , amino acid , wool , biology , lepidoptera genitalia , electrophoresis , digestion (alchemy) , keratin , cysteine , biochemistry , botany , chemistry , chromatography , genetics , history , archaeology , enzyme
Some insect larvae have a remarkable ability to digest and utilise keratin, i.e. highly cross‐linked protein material. Extensive investigations about the digestive mechanism of these insects have already been carried out but the actual course of keratin digestion by the insect pests is still under discussion. Investigations of moth and beetle excreta by amino acid analysis and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis should shed more light on this subject. The present paper describes such comparative studies of larval faeces excreted after feeding with non‐mothproofed and mothproofed wool, using low concentrations of two stomach poisons as moth‐and beetle‐proofing agents. It has been found by amino acid analysis that all excreta examined contained a mixture of peptides and free amino acids. Most of the moth excreta were rich in free cystine and histidine whereas the beetle excreta contained much free cystine and arginine. Only the brown house moth (Hofmannophila) proved exceptional in this respect. Gel electrophoretic analysis of excreta proteins showed a different pattern of breakdown of wool proteins by the principal wool pests. The electrophoretic patterns permitted a differentiation between the types of larvae.