Abstract
THE process by which insects harden and darken their exoskeletons after ecdysis (sclerotization) has been studied extensively1. It is believed that ecdysone controls sclerotization in dipteran puparia by inducing synthesis in the epidermis of an enzyme (DOPA decarboxylase) which catalyses the key step in the biosynthesis of the sclerotizing agent (N-acetyl dopamine) from L-p-tyrosine2. At the imaginal ecdysis of many insects (Diptera, Lepidoptera and Orthoptera) another hormone, a polypeptide called the “tanning hormone” (bursicon), is involved3. The work described here concerns the little known4 mode of action of the tanning hormone.
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References
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WHITEHEAD, D. New Evidence for the Control Mechanism of Sclerotization in Insects. Nature 224, 721–723 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/224721a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/224721a0
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