By Miranda Chant Jul 23, 2022 at 7:15 am
Western University researchers have discovered that the Colorado beetle has a unique ability that allows it to conserve energy during hibernation.
According to the team of insect physiologists, the tiny bug can decompose and regenerate its muscles on demand.
The discovery was a bit of a happy accident. The scientists were trying to measure the beetle’s metabolic rate of its mitochondria—membrane-bound cell organelles that supply energy for flight and metabolism—when they found it had none.
“We know that many animals try to conserve energy and lower their metabolism in the winter by reducing their mitochondria,” said Western Professor and study leader Brent Sinclair. “So it seemed like a simple experiment to show that the low metabolic rates we’re measuring in these hibernating beetles are related to a change in the way mitochondria function.”
Former student Jackie Lebenzon was tasked with making the measurement and initially thought the lack of mitochondria was due to equipment failure in the lab.
“We thought maybe the instrument wasn’t working or my samples were damaging the mitochondria, but I ended up using an electron microscope to look at the muscle cells and found that almost all the mitochondria were gone. Completely gone,” Lebenzon said.
But when the researchers re-examined the same beetles in late winter, they found that all the mitochondria had returned.
“This ability to simply regenerate the mitochondria of an entire muscle is completely new and explains how beetles can conserve energy throughout the winter but be ready to fly and mate immediately in the spring,” Lebenzon said.
More research is needed to determine whether all hibernating insects use this energy-saving strategy. However, the discovery has immediate implications for understanding mitochondrial regulation in insects, which could potentially be manipulated to help treat humans suffering from certain muscle diseases.
The study was published in the high-impact journal PNAS.
Add Comment