Respiratory chain metabolism in the Colorado potato beetle—II. Respiration and oxidative phosphorylation in ‘sarcosomes’ from diapausing beetles

Abstract

The procedure followed for the isolation of flight muscle sarcosomes from active Colorado potato beetles when applied to diapausing beetles yielded preparations of particles which were both biochemically and morphologically distinctly different from normal sarcosomes. Electron microscopy revealed that diapause coincides with an extreme degeneration of the flight muscles, including the almost complete disappearance of normal sarcosomes. Complete regeneration was found to have occurred at the time of termination of diapause. The biochemical activity of the sarcosomes, however, was restored but only after diapause had been terminated. The implications of these findings are discussed from the point of view of the possible hormonal control of diapause in the adult Colorado potato beetle.