【Aim】 Periplaneta americana commonly known as the American cockroach carries out a wide range of activities with the help of locomotor abilities using its femoral and thoracic muscles, reflecting ease of movement in various habitats and that it is able to utilize food substances by the help of metabolic activities for effective daily activities. Little is known about variations in the daily pattern of metabolic activities in P. americana. This study was conducted to investigate the circadian variation in metabolite contents and enzyme activities in the thoracic and femoral muscles of adult P. americana. 【Methods】 The study was carried out by collecting the femoral and thoracic muscles of the 8-day-old aduts of P. americana at 6:00, 12:00, 18:00 and 24:00 local time ［6:00, 12:00, 18:00 and 24:00 Greenwich mean time (GMT)］. The activities of four enzymes (amylase, lipase, proteinase and α-glucosidase) which are responsible for metabolizing or converting the food substances to utilizable substances during transport to the muscles and hydrolysis of the food substances necessary for fueling locomotion in insects, and the contents of the organic (glucose, protein and lipids) and inorganic ［sodium (Na⁺), potasium (K⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), chlorine (Cl^-), iron (Fe²⁺), magnesium (Mg²⁺) and phosphate ion (PO₃^-4)］ substances in these tissues were determined using standard biochemical analytical methods.【Results】 The activities of the four enzymes amylase, lipase, proteinase and α-glucosidase were detected in both femoral and thoracic muscles of P. americana adults throughout the 24 h but at varying activity levels at different time. The activities of amylase, lipase, proteinase and α-glucosidase tested in the femoral muscle followed this pattern: 12:00>6:00>24:00>18:00, and were higher in females than in males. In the thoracic muscle, the activities of amylase, lipase and proteinase at 6:00 and 12:00 were significantly higher than those at 18:00 and 24:00, and females had higher enzyme activities than males. In the thoracic muscles of adult males, the glucose content was significantly higher at 18:00 than at the other time points, and the protein contents at 18:00 and 24:00 were significantly higher than those at 6:00 and 12:00, and the lipid content was significantly higher at 24:00 than at the other time points, while in the thoracic muscles of adult females, the lipid content was significantly higher at 12:00 than at the other time points, the protein contents at 12:00 and 24:00 were significantly higher than those at 6:00 and 18:00, while the glucose content was significantly higher at 24:00 than at the other time points. In the femoral muscle, the lipid content was significantly higher at 18:00 than at the other time points. In the femoral muscle of adult males, the glucose content was significantly higher at 24:00 than at the other time points, and the protein content was significantly higher at 6:00 than at the other time points, while in the femoral muscle of adult females, the contents of glucose and protein were significantly higher at 24:00 than at the other time points. In the thoracic muscle of adult males, the Na⁺ content was significantly higher at 18:00 than at the other time points, the contents of K⁺ and Ca²⁺ in males at 6:00 and 12:00 were significantly higher than those at 18:00 and 24:00, the Cl^- content was significantly higher at 24:00 than at the other time points, the PO₃^-4 contents at 6:00, 18:00 and 24:00 showed no significant difference, but were significantly higher than that at 12:00, while in the thoracic muscle of adult females, the Na⁺ content was significantly higher at 6:00 than at the other time points, while the contents of K⁺, Ca²⁺ and Cl^- were significantly higher at 12:00 than at the other time points, and the PO₃^-4 contents at various time points were not significantly different. In the femoral muscle of the adult males, the contents of Na+ and Ca2+ were significantly higher at 12:00 than at the other time points, the K⁺ content was significantly higher at 6:00 than at 18:00 and 24:00, while the contents of Cl^-  and PO₃^-4 were significantly higher at 6:00 than at the other time points, while in the femoral muscle of adult females, the contents of Na⁺ and Cl^- were significantly higher at 6:00 than at the other time points, the contents of K⁺ and Ca²⁺ at 6:00, 12:00 and 18:00 exhibited no significant difference, while were significantly higher than that at 24:00, and the PO₃^-4 content exhibited no significant difference among various time points. 【Conclusion】 The results of this study suggest that P. americana adults possess the ability to metabolize their organic and inorganic substrates with the help of the enzymes amylase, lipase, proteinase and α-glucosidase for movement, during the peak time of activities.

【Aim】 Nosema pernyi can cause the tussah microparticle disease of Antheraea pernyi, threatening the conservation and production safety of A. pernyi germplasm resources, and be vertically transmitted through eggs. Therefore, it is necessary to search for immune genes in A. pernyi to deal with the N. pernyi infection, so as to provide assistance for the subsequent search and cultivation of new varieties resistant to tussah microparticle disease. 【Methods】 The transcriptome of A. pernyi eggs infected with N. pernyi was constructed, and the immune-related genes were identified through GO functional annotation and KEGG analysis. The glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene of A. pernyi ApGSTo1 was cloned by PCR and bioinformatically analyzed. RT-qPCR was used to detect the expression level of ApGSTo1 in the 0-10-day-old eggs of A. pernyi infected by N. pernyi.【Results】 The number of expressed genes detected in the transcriptome of A. pernyi eggs infected and uninfected with N. pernyi was 17 453, and we found 89 significantly differentially expressed genes. In GO functional annotation, the numbers of genes involved in cellular anatomical entity and catalytic activity were the highest, while in KEGG analysis, the numbers of genes involved in the three pathways of transportation and catabolism, signal transduction, and digestive system were the highest. Based on transcriptome data analysis of A. pernyi eggs infected by N. pernyi, ApGSTo1 was used as the target gene. Results of PCR cloning and phylogenetic analysis proved that ApGSTo1 belongs to the omega-class GST. The expression level of ApGSTo1 in the A. pernyi eggs infected by N. pernyi was higher than that of the normal control group, and the expression level of ApGSTo1 in the 2-day-old eggs of A. pernyi infected by N. pernyi was extremely significantly higher than that of the normal control group. 【Conclusion】 Transcriptome data of A. pernyi eggs infected by N. pernyi were obtained, and an immune-related gene ApGSTo1 was identified. It was preliminarily demonstrated from molecular biology and transcriptional levels that ApGSTo1 participates in the stress resistance to N. pernyi infection in A. pernyi eggs. It was also found that the key time for the stress resistance to N. pernyi infection in A. pernyi eggs is at 2 d after egg laying. These results provide a research foundation for future research on the functions of ApGSTo1 in stress resistance and redox.

Lures can stimulate the behavioral responses of fruit flies to a certain extent and play an important role in the green prevention and control of fruit flies. As one of the most important lures, and coming from some plant volatiles or parapheromones, male lures of fruit flies have a significant attractive effect on male fruit flies. Male fruit flies will not only be attracted by the smell of male lures but also feed on the lures, which will be metabolized into different substances in male adults, and then play the corresponding function. In this review, combined with the studies on the feeding effects, we reviewed the research progress of six male lures of fruit flies, namely methyl eugenol, raspberry ketone, zingerone, cuelure, 3-hydroxy-α-ionone and β-caryophyllene, and their metabolism, mainly including the feeding behavior and metabolic changes of male fruit flies, the influence of feeding effect on the behavioral responses of fruit flies, the attractive effect of male fruit flies fed on lures on female and male fruit flies, and the change of mating success rate. In the exploration of the feeding effect, rectal gland is the focus of pheromone isolation and storage, and the waxy, water-resistant film composed of hydrocarbons covering insect body surface is also a potential focus of research. At the same time, exploring the role of antennae and maxillary palp in the lure perception process of fruit flies will help to reveal the complex mechanism behind feeding phenomenon more comprehensively and profoundly. It is expected to provide new ideas and guidelines for the development of fruit fly lures and add more diversified means and approaches for the green ecological prevention and control of fruit flies.