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Multigenerational Effects of Rearing Atmospheric Oxygen Level on the Tracheal Dimensions and Diffusing Capacities of Pupal and Adult Drosophila melanogaster

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Hypoxia

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 903))

Abstract

Insects are small relative to vertebrates, and were larger in the Paleozoic when atmospheric oxygen levels were higher. The safety margin for oxygen delivery does not increase in larger insects, due to an increased mass-specific investment in the tracheal system and a greater use of convection in larger insects. Prior studies have shown that the dimensions and number of tracheal system branches varies inversely with rearing oxygen in embryonic and larval insects. Here we tested whether rearing in 10, 21, or 40 kPa atmospheric oxygen atmospheres for 5–7 generations affected the tracheal dimensions and diffusing capacities of pupal and adult Drosophila. Abdominal tracheae and pupal snorkel tracheae showed weak responses to oxygen, while leg tracheae showed strong, but imperfect compensatory changes. The diffusing capacity of leg tracheae appears closely matched to predicted oxygen transport needs by diffusion, perhaps explaining the consistent and significant responses of these tracheae to rearing oxygen. The reduced investment in tracheal structure in insects reared in higher oxygen levels may be important for conserving tissue PO2 and may provide an important mechanism for insects to invest only the space and materials necessary into respiratory structure.

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Acknowledgements

Use of the Advanced Photon Source was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. This research was also supported by NSF EAR 0746352 and NSF IBN 0419704 to JFH.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA

    C. Jaco Klok, Alexander Kaiser & Jon F. Harrison

  2. Department of Basic Sciences, Midwestern University, Glendale, AZ, USA

    Alexander Kaiser

  3. Engineering Science and Mechanics, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VI, USA

    John J. Socha

  4. X-Ray Science Division, Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, USA

    John J. Socha & Wah-Keat Lee

Authors
  1. C. Jaco Klok
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  2. Alexander Kaiser
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  3. John J. Socha
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  4. Wah-Keat Lee
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  5. Jon F. Harrison
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jon F. Harrison .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Altitude Research Center, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical, AURORA, Colorado, USA

    Robert C. Roach

  2. Institute for Altitude Medicine, Telluride, Colorado, USA

    Peter H. Hackett

  3. Division of Physiology 0623A, University of California - San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

    Peter D. Wagner

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Klok, C.J., Kaiser, A., Socha, J.J., Lee, WK., Harrison, J.F. (2016). Multigenerational Effects of Rearing Atmospheric Oxygen Level on the Tracheal Dimensions and Diffusing Capacities of Pupal and Adult Drosophila melanogaster . In: Roach, R., Hackett, P., Wagner, P. (eds) Hypoxia. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 903. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7678-9_20

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