Hemideina maori
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The New Zealand alpine weta Hemideina maori |
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1) Fluid and ion secretion by insect Malpighian tubules.
This project looked at the characteristics of fluid and ion secretion by Malpighian tubules of the New Zealand alpine weta (Hemideina maori), a large orthopteran insect. The presence of many, large Malpighian tubules in this orthopteran insect makes it a particularly good model for studies in the regulation of solute and water fluxes by an epithelial tissue. |
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2) Freezing tolerance of insect Malpighian tubules. The New Zealand alpine weta lives on mountain summits of the South Island of New Zealand and is known to naturally survive bouts of freezing, an adaptation which probably evolved during past ice ages. We investigated the ability of Malpighian tubules of the weta to survive in vitro freezing under a variety of conditions (e.g. in the presence of various cryoprotectants, for various time periods, to various minimum temperatures). Malpighian tubules were found to survive freezing in vitro and provide an excellent model for elucidating mechanisms of freeze tolerance in an epithelial tissue. We also investigated the possible role of cell volume regulation during the massive cell shrinkage which occurs during freezing. |