Data from: Double cuticle barrier in two global pests, the whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum and the bedbug Cimex lectularius

The integument protects the organism against penetration of xenobiotics and water that would potentially interfere with homeostasis. In insects that play key roles in a variety of agricultural and ecological habitats this inward barrier is barely investigated. In order to advance in this field, we studied integumental barrier (cuticle) permeability in the two global pests Trialeurodes vaporariorum (greenhouse whitefly) and Cimex lectularius (bedbug) applying a simple dye-penetration assay. In agreement with our recent findings in Drosophila melanogaster, we show that the surface of these insects is regionalised. We also show that, in contrast to the single barrier in D. melanogaster, two barriers with distinct temperature-sensitive and lipid-based phyisco-chemical material properties act in parallel to protect these insects against penetration of hydrophilic molecules. These findings imply the existence of unexplored mechanisms by which the cuticle acts as a protective coat against penetration of water and xenobiotics including pollutants and insecticides.

体壁（integument）能够保护生物体免受外源性物质（xenobiotics）与水分的侵入，此类物质往往会干扰机体的内稳态（homeostasis）。然而，在诸多农业与生态生境中扮演关键角色的昆虫类群中，这类向内防御屏障的相关研究却寥寥无几。为推动该领域的研究进展，我们采用简便的染料渗透实验，针对两种全球性害虫——温室白粉虱（Trialeurodes vaporariorum，greenhouse whitefly）与温带臭虫（Cimex lectularius，bedbug）的体壁屏障（角质层cuticle）通透性展开了研究。与我们此前在黑腹果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）中的研究结果一致，本研究证实这类昆虫的体表存在区域化特征。同时我们还发现，与黑腹果蝇仅存在单一防御屏障不同，这两种害虫拥有两道并行的防御屏障，二者分别具有独特的温度敏感性与脂类依赖的物理化学（physicochemical）特性，可保护昆虫免受亲水性分子的侵入。本研究结果揭示，角质层作为保护性外衣抵御水分与外源性物质（包括污染物与杀虫剂）侵入的相关机制，仍有大量未被探索的空间。