Goblet cell apical membranes in the larval midgut of Manduca sexta are the site of active and electrogenic K+ secretion. They possess a vacuolar-type ATPase which, in its immunopurified form, consists of at least nine polypeptides. cDNAs for the A and B subunits screened by monoclonal antibodies to the A subunit of the Manduca V-ATPase or by hybridisation with a cDNA probe for a plant V-ATPase B subunit have been cloned and sequenced. There is a high degree of identity to the sequences of the respective subunits of other V-ATPases. The M. sexta plasma membrane V-ATPase is an electrogenic proton pump which energizes, by the electrical component of the proton-motive force, electrogenic K+/nH+ antiport, resulting in net electrogenic K+ secretion. Since the midgut lacks a Na+/K(+)-ATPase, all solute fluxes in this epithelium seem to be energized by the V-ATPase. Thus, the midgut provides an alternative to the classical concept of animal plasma membrane energization by the Na(+)-motive force generated by the Na+/K(+)-ATPase.
In the field: an interview with Harald Wolf
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In our new Conversation, Harald Wolf talks about his fieldwork experiences working with desert ants in Tunisia to understand their navigation.
Propose a new Workshop
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Our Workshops bring together leading experts and early-career researchers from a range of scientific backgrounds. Applications are now open to propose Workshops for 2024, one of which will be held in a Global South country.
Julian Dow steps down and John Terblanche joins the JEB team
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After 15 years with the journal, Julian Dow from University of Glasgow, UK, is stepping down as a Monitoring Editor. We wish Julian all the best for the future and welcome John Terblanche, Stellenbosch University, South Africa, who is joining the team. Julian talks about his long association with The Company of Biologists and the journal and John tells us about his life and career in this News article.
The capture of crude oil droplets by filter feeders at high and low Reynolds numbers
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Researchers from the University of Montreal, Canada, reveal how tiny filter feeding barnacles and Daphnia entrap and consume minute droplets of crude oil, introducing the pollutant at the bottom of the food chain.
Patterns and processes in amphibious fish
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In their Review, Keegan Lutek, Cassandra Donatelli and Emily Standen discuss the biomechanics and neural control of terrestrial locomotion in amphibious fish. They explore how locomotor mode depends on body shape, physical constraints and phylogeny.
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