Effects of diet and metamorphosis upon the sterol composition of the butterfly Morpho peleides
Whole body sterol metabolism in insects has seldom been studied. We were able to design an appropriate study at a butterfly farm in Belize. We collected six larvas of butterfly (Morpho peleides), their food (leaves of Pterocarpus bayessii), and their excretions. In addition, six adult butterflies we...
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doaj-9a05e162676c470395b3200b0f6ab5592021-04-27T04:44:23ZengElsevierJournal of Lipid Research0022-22752006-07-0147714441448Effects of diet and metamorphosis upon the sterol composition of the butterfly Morpho peleidesWilliam E. Connor0Yingming Wang1Mike Green2Don S. Lin3Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Clinical Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland ORDivision of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Clinical Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland ORBlue Morpho Butterfly Farm, Chaa Creek, BelizeDivision of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Clinical Nutrition, Department of Medicine, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland ORWhole body sterol metabolism in insects has seldom been studied. We were able to design an appropriate study at a butterfly farm in Belize. We collected six larvas of butterfly (Morpho peleides), their food (leaves of Pterocarpus bayessii), and their excretions. In addition, six adult butterflies were collected. The sterols of the diet, the larva, and adult butterfly were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. The structures of these sterols were identified by digitonin precipitation, GC-MS, and NMR. Four sterols (cholesterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, and sitosterol) and a sterol mixture were found in the food, the body, and the excreta of the larva. The tissue sterol content of the larva was 326 μg. They consumed 276 μg of sterols per day. Their excretion was 185 μg per day as sterols. The total tissue sterol contents of the larva and butterfly were similar, but they had different sterol compositions, which indicated interconversion of sterols during development. There was a progressive increase in the cholesterol content from larva to butterfly and a decrease in the content of sitosterol and other plant sterols, which were likely converted to cholesterol. Our data indicated an active sterol metabolism in butterfly larva. Diet played an important role in determining its sterol composition. During metamorphosis, there was an interconversion of sterols. This is the first paper documenting the fecal sterol excretion in insects as related to dietary intakes.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022227520331886cholesterolplant sterolssitosterolcampesteroldealkylationlarva |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
William E. Connor Yingming Wang Mike Green Don S. Lin |
spellingShingle |
William E. Connor Yingming Wang Mike Green Don S. Lin Effects of diet and metamorphosis upon the sterol composition of the butterfly Morpho peleides Journal of Lipid Research cholesterol plant sterols sitosterol campesterol dealkylation larva |
author_facet |
William E. Connor Yingming Wang Mike Green Don S. Lin |
author_sort |
William E. Connor |
title |
Effects of diet and metamorphosis upon the sterol composition of the butterfly Morpho peleides |
title_short |
Effects of diet and metamorphosis upon the sterol composition of the butterfly Morpho peleides |
title_full |
Effects of diet and metamorphosis upon the sterol composition of the butterfly Morpho peleides |
title_fullStr |
Effects of diet and metamorphosis upon the sterol composition of the butterfly Morpho peleides |
title_full_unstemmed |
Effects of diet and metamorphosis upon the sterol composition of the butterfly Morpho peleides |
title_sort |
effects of diet and metamorphosis upon the sterol composition of the butterfly morpho peleides |
publisher |
Elsevier |
series |
Journal of Lipid Research |
issn |
0022-2275 |
publishDate |
2006-07-01 |
description |
Whole body sterol metabolism in insects has seldom been studied. We were able to design an appropriate study at a butterfly farm in Belize. We collected six larvas of butterfly (Morpho peleides), their food (leaves of Pterocarpus bayessii), and their excretions. In addition, six adult butterflies were collected. The sterols of the diet, the larva, and adult butterfly were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography. The structures of these sterols were identified by digitonin precipitation, GC-MS, and NMR. Four sterols (cholesterol, campesterol, stigmasterol, and sitosterol) and a sterol mixture were found in the food, the body, and the excreta of the larva. The tissue sterol content of the larva was 326 μg. They consumed 276 μg of sterols per day. Their excretion was 185 μg per day as sterols. The total tissue sterol contents of the larva and butterfly were similar, but they had different sterol compositions, which indicated interconversion of sterols during development. There was a progressive increase in the cholesterol content from larva to butterfly and a decrease in the content of sitosterol and other plant sterols, which were likely converted to cholesterol. Our data indicated an active sterol metabolism in butterfly larva. Diet played an important role in determining its sterol composition. During metamorphosis, there was an interconversion of sterols. This is the first paper documenting the fecal sterol excretion in insects as related to dietary intakes. |
topic |
cholesterol plant sterols sitosterol campesterol dealkylation larva |
url |
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022227520331886 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT williameconnor effectsofdietandmetamorphosisuponthesterolcompositionofthebutterflymorphopeleides AT yingmingwang effectsofdietandmetamorphosisuponthesterolcompositionofthebutterflymorphopeleides AT mikegreen effectsofdietandmetamorphosisuponthesterolcompositionofthebutterflymorphopeleides AT donslin effectsofdietandmetamorphosisuponthesterolcompositionofthebutterflymorphopeleides |
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