Clogmia albipunctata (Williston, 1893) midgut physiology: pH control and functional relationship with Lower Diptera (nematoceran) especially with hematophagous species

• Published in: Comparative biochemistry and physiology. Part A, Molecular & integrative physiology Molecular & integrative physiology, 2024-04, Vol.290, p.111584-111584, Article 111584
• Main Authors: Malta, Luccas Gabriel Ferreira, Koerich, Leonardo Barbosa, D'Ávila Pessoa, Grasielle Caldas, Araujo, Ricardo N., Sant'Anna, Mauricio Roberto Viana, Pereira, Marcos H., Gontijo, Nelder Figueiredo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Clogmia albipunctata; Digestive System; Exaptation; Hematophagy; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Intestinal physiology; Midgut pH; Psychodidae - physiology; Sugars
• ISSN: 1095-6433; 1531-4332
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2024.111584

Clogmia albipunctata (Williston, 1893) is a non-hematophagous insect belonging to the order Diptera, suborder Nematocera (Lower Diptera) and family Psychodidae. In the present work, we investigated how C. albipunctata control their midgut pH under different physiological conditions, comparing their midgut physiology with some nematoceran hematophagous species. The C. albipunctata midgut pH was measured after ingestion of sugar, protein and under the effect of the alkalinizing hormone released in the hemolymph of the hematophagous sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis obtained just after a blood meal. The midgut pH of unfed or sugar-fed C. albipunctata is 5.5–6, and its midgut underwent alkalinization after protein ingestion or under treatment with hemolymph collected from blood fed L. longipalpis. These results suggested that in nematocerans, mechanisms for pH control seem shared between hematophagous and non-hematophagous species. This kind of pH control is convenient for successful blood digestion. The independent evolution of many hematophagous groups from the Lower Diptera suggests that characteristics involved in midgut pH control were already present in non-hematophagous species and represent a readiness for adaptation to this feeding mode. [Display omitted] •C. albipunctata share midgut pH control mechanisms with hematophagous nematocerans.•It presents an acidic midgut, undergoing alkalinization when feeding on proteins.•Alkalinizing hormones from L. longipalpis hemolymph function in female C. albipunctata.•Exaptation events may be involved in adaptation to hematophagy in nematoceran.