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Study reveals the central role of lipogenesis in parasitic wasps
The Easter holidays are over and many people have once again experienced firsthand how easily sweets can be converted into fat. Parasitic wasps are also capable of converting sugar into fat—a capability that long was thought to be lost in these insects. Researchers at the Universities of Regensburg and Münster now show in a new study how important this metabolic pathway is for these animals: when so-called lipogenesis—the conversion of sugar into fatty acids and fat—is silenced, the wasps can no longer produce offspring.
Parasitic wasps belong to the order Hymenoptera and are among the most speciose groups of insects. Their larvae develop within different developmental stages of other insects after these have been parasitized by female wasps. During development, the larvae almost completely consume their hosts and in doing so also take over their fat reserves. For this reason, it was long assumed that parasitic wasps had lost the ability during evolution to convert sugar into fatty acids. Although adult wasps regularly consume nectar or other sugar-rich secretions, they were thought to meet their fat requirements largely through the reserves acquired from the host during the larval stage. However, researchers in Regensburg had already shown in several earlier studies that carbon from ingested 13C-labeled sugar can be found in the fatty acids and fats of the wasps. The animals are therefore clearly capable of converting sugar into fat. Nevertheless, the actual importance of lipogenesis for the biology of parasitic wasps remained controversial. “The relevance of this metabolic pathway continued to be questioned by some colleagues” says Joachim Ruther, head of the Regensburg research team, “and therefore, we continued our investigations to examine this question in even more detail”.
In collaboration with colleagues from the University of Münster, the team has now characterized the gene Nvfas1 in the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis. This gene encodes the enzyme fatty acid synthase, which plays a central role in the production of fatty acids. Using RNA interference—a method that allows genes to be selectively turned down—the researchers experimentally silenced the gene. The consequences were striking: Males were no longer able to replenish their supply of sex pheromone, which they synthesize from fatty acids. Females completely stopped producing new reserve fats from sugar. The most important result, however, concerned reproduction: Females without a functioning fatty acid synthesis were no longer able to produce viable eggs—even though they still possessed fat reserves. Accordingly, their ovaries developed only incompletely when the Nvfas1 gene was silenced.
From an evolutionary perspective, the complete loss of reproductive capacity represents a worst-case scenario for an organism. The results of the study therefore emphasize the central importance of fatty acid biosynthesis for the biology of parasitic wasps. “Our findings also suggest that existing fat reserves cannot simply be diverted to egg production. A functioning de novo synthesis of fatty acids appears to be a prerequisite for successful egg development”, Joachim Ruther says.
The results of the study were published in the renowned scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B – Biological Sciences.
Prof. Dr. Joachim Ruther
Institut für Zoologie, Universität Regensburg
Tel.: +49 176 43973351
E-Mail: Joachim.Ruther@ur.de
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2026.0066
A parasitic wasp of the species Nasonia vitripennis feeds on a sugar solution.
Source: Joachim Ruther
Copyright: Joachim Ruther
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