Belgica antarctica (Diptera: Chironomidae), a brachypterous midge endemic to the maritime Antarctic, was first described in 1900. Over more than a century of study, a vast amount of information has been compiled on the species (3 750 000 Google search results as of January 10, 2021), encompassing its ecology and biology, life cycle and reproduction, polytene chromosomes, physiology, biochemistry and, increasingly, omics. In 2014, B. antarctica's genome was sequenced, further boosting research. Certain developmental stages can be cultured successfully in the laboratory. Taken together, this wealth of information allows the species to be viewed as a natural model organism for studies of adaptation and function in extreme environments.
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The larval morphology of the endemic species Belgica antarctica Jacobs, collected in January and February (2022) from six sites of Antarctica, was studied. The mouth apparatus and the parapods of one hundred seventy-six larvae were analyzed. No differences were found in the morphology of these structures between individuals of different sites.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChironomid midges (Diptera) provide insights into genome evolution in extreme environments.
Curr Opin Insect Sci
February 2022
Extreme Biology Laboratory, Regulatory Genomics Research Center, Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, 420012, Russia; Graduate School of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, 113-8421, Japan; RIKEN Center for Integrative Medical Sciences, RIKEN, Yokohama, 230-004, Japan. Electronic address:
Extremophiles often undergo marked changes in genomic architecture, likely as a result of adaptation to the harsh environments they inhabit. These changes can involve gene duplications that affect subsequent gene evolution and the regulation of gene expression. Excellent examples of this are provided by two non-biting chironomid midges (Diptera, Chironomidae): Polypedilum vanderplanki, which in its larval form can withstand almost complete water loss, and Belgica antarctica, which exhibits freeze tolerance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFine-scale variation in microhabitat conditions influences physiology and metabolism in an Antarctic insect.
Oecologia
October 2021
Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40546, USA.
Microhabitats with distinct biotic and abiotic properties exist within landscapes, and this microhabitat variation can have dramatic impacts on the phenology and physiology of the organisms occupying them. The Antarctic midge Belgica antarctica inhabits diverse microhabitats along the Western Antarctic Peninsula that vary in macrophyte composition, hygric qualities, nutrient input, and thermal patterns. Here, we compare seasonal physiological changes in five populations of B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExternal Morphology of Larvae of Jacobs, 1900 (Diptera, Chironomidae) Obtained from Two Locations in Maritime Antarctica.
Insects
September 2021
British Antarctic Survey, NERC, High Cross, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK.
The external morphology of the fourth-instar larva of the Antarctic endemic chironomid midge is described. Larvae were collected from Jougla Point (Wiencke Island) and an un-named island close to Enterprise Island, off the coast of the western Antarctic Peninsula. Light microscopy was used to examine and document photographically the structures of the mouthparts (mandible, mentum, premandible, labrum), antennae, pecten epipharyngis, clypeus, frontal apotome and posterior parapods.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRapid stress hardening in the Antarctic midge improves male fertility by increasing courtship success and preventing decline of accessory gland proteins following cold exposure.
J Exp Biol
July 2021
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA.
Rapid hardening is a process that quickly improves an animal's performance following exposure to potentially damaging stress. In this study of the Antarctic midge, Belgica antarctica (Diptera, Chironomidae), we examined how rapid hardening in response to dehydration (RDH) or cold (RCH) improves male pre- and post-copulatory function when the insects are subsequently subjected to a damaging cold exposure. Neither RDH nor RCH improved survival in response to lethal cold stress, but male activity and mating success following sublethal cold exposure were enhanced.
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