title: Cell signalling mechanisms for insect stress tolerance.
abstract: Insects successfully occupy most environmental niches and this success depends on surviving a broad range of environmental stressors including temperature, desiccation, xenobiotic, osmotic and infection stress. Epithelial tissues play key roles as barriers between the external and internal environments and therefore maintain homeostasis and organismal tolerance to multiple stressors. As such, the crucial role of epithelia in organismal stress tolerance cannot be underestimated. At a molecular level, multiple cell-specific signalling pathways including cyclic cAMP, cyclic cGMP and calcium modulate tissue, and hence, organismal responses to stress. Thus, epithelial cell-specific signal transduction can be usefully studied to determine the molecular mechanisms of organismal stress tolerance in vivo. This review will explore cell signalling modulation of stress tolerance in insects by focusing on cell signalling in a fluid transporting epithelium--the Malpighian tubule. Manipulation of specific genes and signalling pathways in only defined tubule cell types can influence the survival outcome in response to multiple environmental stressors including desiccation, immune, salt (ionic) and oxidative stress, suggesting that studies in the genetic model Drosophila melanogaster may reveal novel pathways required for stress tolerance.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Cell and Systems Biology, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK.
authors.forename: Shireen A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Davies
authors.forename: Pablo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cabrero
authors.forename: Gayle
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Overend
authors.forename: Lorraine
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Aitchison
authors.forename: Sujith
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sebastian
authors.forename: Selim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Terhzaz
authors.forename: Julian A T
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Dow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D000242:Cyclic AMP / Q000378:metabolism; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000378:metabolism; D003681:Dehydration; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000378:metabolism*; D004777:Environment; D006706:Homeostasis; D008317:Malpighian Tubules / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D009092:Mucous Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D009997:Osmotic Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D000242:Cyclic AMP; D006152:Cyclic GMP; D002118:Calcium
keywords: Calcium; Cyclic AMP; Cyclic GMP; D. melanogaster; Malpighian tubule; Stress