• Login
    View Item 
    •   Carroll Scholars Home
    • Chemistry and Physics
    • Chemistry and Physics Undergraduate Theses
    • View Item
    •   Carroll Scholars Home
    • Chemistry and Physics
    • Chemistry and Physics Undergraduate Theses
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Biochemical Analysis of Insect Camouflage in Manduca sexta, the Tobacco Hornworm

    Thumbnail
    View/Open
    SemmensK_2012final.PDF (1.012Mb)
    Author
    Semmens, Kevin
    Advisor
    Daniel Gretch; Kyle Strode; Jack Oberweiser
    Date of Issue
    2012-04-01
    Subject Keywords
    Manduca sexta, Tobacco Hornworm, pigment
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    URI
    https://scholars.carroll.edu/handle/20.500.12647/163
    Title
    Biochemical Analysis of Insect Camouflage in Manduca sexta, the Tobacco Hornworm
    Type
    thesis
    Abstract
    Manduca sexta (Tobacco Hornworm) larvae exhibit diet-induced adaptation, demonstrating green coloration in their natural environment but becoming a pale blue when placed on a lab diet lacking plant material. I hypothesized that the color change observed in the Tobacco Hornworm was induced by the dietary intake of a plant pigment of orange or yellow color (specifically ?-carotene). The pigment ?-carotene is highly hydrophobic, so I hypothesized that it was traveling to the skin via a lipoprotein transport pathway. Hornworms were reared and then bled to extract hemolymph. Ultracentrifugation was used to float out the lipoproteins from the hemolymph. Lipoprotein isolation was confirmed by gel electrophoresis. The lipoproteins isolated from plant-fed insects did indeed contain a bright yellow pigment. UV-visible spectroscopy supported ?-carotene as the pigment being carried by the lipoproteins and responsible for inducing the insect’s color change.
    Degree Awarded
    Bachelor's
    Semester
    Spring
    Department
    Chemistry & Physics
    Collections
    • Chemistry and Physics Undergraduate Theses

    Browse

    All of Carroll ScholarsCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2023  DuraSpace
    DSpace Express is a service operated by 
    Atmire NV