Fly hundreds of kilometers a day, this kind of pest has a "alternative" trick!

Text ｜ "China Science News" reporter Ni Sijie

Oxygen is very important for the lives of almost all animals. Animals have evolved into a complex respiratory system, which can effectively transport oxygen to every part of the body. Nevertheless, when the metabolism demand exceeds the supply, oxygen shortage occasionally occurs.

Low oxygen -induced factor (HIF) is considered to be the core protein that helps cells help cells in the organism.

However, recently, the Kangle team of the Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the researcher of the Institute of Animal Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences accidentally discovered that there was an alternative member in the HIF family. reaction.

Researchers named this special protein HIF-1α2, and believed that it was essential for long-term flight to locusts.

On August 30, the relevant research results were published in Elife and were recommended as highlight articles.

Flying locusts. Interviewee confidence

Abnormal and confused

What kind of physiological changes and metabolic reactions will happen when oxygen is lacking? For a long time, many scientists have conducted a lot of research on molecular switches that perceive oxygen changes in animal cells.

In 1991, people discovered a specific DNA -protein complex that changed accordingly with the changes in oxygen concentration. This protein was named "low oxygen induction factor".

In 2019, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to two American scientists and a British scientist to recognize them to discover the functions of HIF and its regulating low oxygen adaptation.

At the same time, this discovery also provides useful clues and new treatment ideas for local hypoxia research and treatment caused by anemia, cancer, and many other diseases.

Based on the accumulation of early research, it is generally believed that only when the organism is in a hypoxic environment, or tissue and cells is in a hypoxic micro -environment, the HIF pathway can be activated, and under normal oxygen content, the HIF pathway is inhibited.

Four years ago, Ding Yan, the first author of the thesis and the young man of the recreation team, used molecular biology to study the problem of molecular biological means to study the problem of the low oxygen adaptation of the land. Like all scientists who studied the problem of low oxygen adaptation, HIF was his research on his research. The protein that cannot be around.

Flying locusts are agricultural pests that can fly hundreds of kilometers a day. During long -distance flight, the oxygen consumed by flying locusts is 30 to 150 times when resting.

For many laboratory of insect biology research, fruit flies are the most basic model insects, but this experimental team is different. They are the only experimental team in the world that uses landlings as model insects.

They first let the flying locusts fly for a while, and then removed their flying muscle tissue for protein analysis.

There are two different HIF proteins in the flying muscles of the locust. Therefore, they studied the activity of these two proteins at the cell level.

Soon, a strange phenomenon attracted the attention of Ding Yan: one HIF protein only appeared during hypoxia, and the other HIF protein could exist in the aerobic environment. Moreover, they also found that the new protein in the flying muscles will rise sharply when flying in normal oxygen.

"Isn't the HIF pathway be activated only in a low oxygen environment?" Ding Yan was a little confused.

He thought of another previous research result. That achievement found that the reason why the group -type flying locusts can make long -distance relocation, thanks to better maintain metabolic stability during the flight.

Ding Yan suspects, "Will the new protein be maintained in the metabolic stability in the flying locust flight?"

A series of issues aroused his interest in his and research teams.

Alternative protein with gap

After analyzing two proteins with different properties, they found that there is a "gap" in genes corresponding to the HIF protein corresponding to the HIF protein in the condition of ingrains.

HIF protein contains two subunits, α subunit and β subunit, of which low-oxygen perception sub-submall is α subunit, which is called HIF-1α by scientists.

HIF-1α has two transvasing regions (TAD), namely N-TAD and C-TAD. C-TAD can play a fine adjustment role, and N-TAD is necessary for activation transcription.

Unlike conventional HIF-1α, the newly discovered protein lacks C-TAD. The research team experiment found that it is precisely because of the lack of the domain that new protein can maintain higher activity in normal oxygen environments.

Therefore, they named this new protein HIF-1α2 and the original HIF-1α1 was called HIF-1α1.

Through a large number of experiments, they also found that HIF-1α2 will directly transcribe the expression of target gene DJ-1.

The protein encoded by DJ-1 is a key detoxification and antioxidant enzyme in animals, which can effectively remove active oxygen and other harmful metabolic products accumulated in the flying muscle when flying.

"Unlike other insects, flying locusts is particularly able to fly, and can fly 100 kilometers at a time. Flying locusts can produce a large amount of harmful objects when flying long distances. It can avoid the accumulation of harmful metabolites and enable the landlord to adapt to long -term aerobic metabolism process, "said Kangle, author of the paper.

More importantly, the structure is similar to the HIF protein type of the HIF-1α2 type, which also exists in other animals, especially humans and birds. But before that, the biological function of this HIF protein that can maintain stable HIF protein under normal oxygen has been unclear. "The significance of this study is to expand people's understanding of the most core oxygen perception pathway in the animal world -the HIF channel function. This discovery shows that the HIF pathway in the organism not only regulates the hypoxia response, but also in the oxygen -required physiological process. Zhong also played a key role, "Kangle said.

"We can withstand the inspection of the peers"

With the deepening of the research, the previous confusion of the research team was solved one by one. They voted the research papers to ELIFE of International Biological Journal.

Kangle introduced that at that time, there was an unwritten rule in this magazine, that is, when the paper was sent for foreign trials, the editor would ask the author if he was willing to publicize the results of the papers on the pre -printing platform Biorxiv. Send the paper for external trial.

Kangle told the "China Science News" that the thesis left a discussion column on the pre -printing platform, and the content can also be used for editing for reference. Moreover, after the pre -printing platform is sent out by other colleagues who do the same research, the peers may stop their their own. Research.

In this way, if the final papers are officially published by foreign trials, the papers can get a higher reference rate, which will also bring positive impacts to the impact factor of the journal.

For contributors, this is risky. "If you are rejected, it will be very passive." Kangle said.

However, after receiving the editor to ask if the email that was disclosed in advance in the pre -print book, Kang Lexing agreed: "We can stand the inspection of the peers."

Finally, all three reviewers of ELIFE agreed to publish. To this end, Elife also invited experts to write a comment article for thesis.

Jiwon Shim, a well -known professor in the same field, pointed out in a comment article that the study revealed the new features of variable -cut HIF.

"Insects are the earliest animals that can be flying. Perhaps it is precisely the diversity of HIF gene structure produced during the long -term evolution and the appearance of the HIF protein that does not depend on low oxygen among some types of insects. The diversity of insect flight abilities and methods. This discovery also provides important basis and clues for some research on biological processes that require specific HIF protein participation, such as animal embryo development and certain tumor formation, "SHIM said.

Kangle said that in the next step, the research team will study the existence of HIF-1α2 in other creatures on the one hand, and on the other hand, to study the production of the protein and the activity regulation mechanism on the other hand.

Related thesis information:

https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.74554

https://doi.org/10.7554/elife.82028

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-07529-8

"China Science News" (2022-09-02 The first edition of the original title "Alternative protein hidden locust long-distance flight tricks")

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