Abstract
IN a recent report1 R. D. Wiffen and M. J. Heard request identification of hollow particles, 0.5 micron in diameter, which were collected in an atmospheric aerosol at Harwell Atomic Energy Research Establishment. These appear to be solid excretory products known as brochosomes, produced by homopterous insects. These structures were first discovered adhering to the wings2 and were later shown to originate in the Malpighian tubules of the gut3, occurring in Golgi vesicles. A special behaviour pattern exists by which the hind legs distribute excrement over the wings5. One configuration is a twenty-sided polyhedron comprising eight hexagons and twelve pentagons4, which is identical to the much larger polyhedra of a radiolarian skeleton (Dorataspis cristata)6. Thompson noted6 that such polyhedra can only exist if there is distortion in either edges or facets. These systems have obvious parallels with the quasi-equivalently related protein subunits in icosahedral virus shells7. The brochosomes consist of lipoprotein and may occur in various other configurations8.
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NEVILLE, A. “Airborne Organism” Identified. Nature 225, 199 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1038/225199b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/225199b0
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