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SEPG 2331 - Date Awarded 2003
Studies on Mantophasmatodea- a new insect order: Linking ecology, biodiversity studies and neuroscience
Dr Steffen Roth
Abstract
In order to study peptide hormones of the recently described insect order Mantophasmatodea 9 species from 7 genera and two families (some of the taxa have an uncertain status) were collected. Field survey revealed information about biodiversity, distribution, behaviour and ecology of Mantophasmatodea. A species of the Mantophasmatidae, Praedatophasma spec. was collected in the Richtersveld in South Africa, which shows for the first time that this family successfully crossed the Orange River between South Africa and Namibia. Peptides of different neurohemal organs of single specimens were catalogued for all sampled species by using mass spectrometric techniques. Mass peak of neuropeptides and first de-novo-sequences of the some peptides are analysed. This extensive peptide screening in Mantophasmatodea revealed a clear differentiation of species by peptide mass fingerprint. According preliminary results peptide inventory differs on species but not on population level. There seems no consistency between phylogentic species grouping inferred from peptide sequences and the biogeographic distribution of species. However, peptide inventory is coincident both with taxonomic (i.e. genus, family) and an ecological grouping of species (e.g. according occurrences in biomes or climate pattern). But only a further analysis of species-specific peptide sequences and fine scale ecological data (e.g. vegetation) may finally allow linking of habitat specificity and/or phylogenic background to peptide inventory.
Full report: SEPG2331
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