Vol. 45 No. 4, 2006

Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase in the Gut of Larvae of the Zygopteran, Ischnura elegans, and the Anisoptera, Libellula lydia, (Odonata): Activity and Immunocytochemical Localization

Saber Khodabandeh

Department of Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, University of Tarbiat Modarres, Mazandaran, Noor, PO Box 46414-356, Iran

Saber Khodabandeh (2006) Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase activity and immunolocalization were demonstrated in the gut of Ischnura elegans and Libellula lydia larvae. Localization was performed through immunofluorescence light microscopy using the IgGα₅ mouse monoclonal antibody. The Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase activity was significantly higher in the hindgut than in the foregut-midgut in both species. In I. elegans, Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase activities were 29.44 and 5.12 µM Pi/mg/protein/h in the hindgut and foregut-midgut, while in L. lydia, the activities were 16.24 and 1.98 µM Pi/mg/protein/h in the hindgut and foregut-midgut, respectively. No specific fluorescence staining was observed in the cells of the foregut or midgut regions in either species. Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase was found in the malpighian tubules and rectal pad epithelium in I. elegans, and in the epithelium of the basal pads of the rectal gill lamellae in L. lydia. A consistently high immunoreactivity was observed in the sides of the lumen of malpighian tubule cells, and a positive and strong fluorescence signal was found in the basolateral sides of the pads of epithelium cells. These findings show that as in crustaceans, this antibody is useful for locating of Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase and ionocytes in insect osmoregulatory tissues. A high concentration of Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase activity in these tissues confirms their participation in osmoregulation through active ion exchange.

Key words: Damselfly, Dragonfly, Immunolocalization, Na⁺,K⁺-ATPase.

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