School of Food and Biological Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, PR China.
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, PR China.
J Insect Sci. 2020 Mar 1;20(2). doi: 10.1093/jisesa/ieaa008.
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a highly poisonous gas with an unpleasant smell of rotten eggs. Previous studies of H2S have primarily focused on its effects on mammalian nervous and respiratory systems. In this study, silkworm developmental parameters and changes in metabolites in response to H2S exposure were investigated using a hemolymph metabolomic approach, based on liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The developmental parameters, body weight, cocoon weight, cocoon shell weight, and cocoon shell ratio, were noticeably increased following H2S exposure, with the greatest effects observed at 7.5-μM H2S. Metabolites upregulated under H2S exposure (7.5 μM) were related to inflammation, and included (6Z, 9Z, 12Z)-octadecatrienoic acid, choline phosphate, and malic acid, while hexadecanoic acid was downregulated. Identified metabolites were involved in biological processes, including pyrimidine, purine, and fatty acid metabolism, which are likely to affect silk gland function. These results demonstrate that H2S is beneficial to silkworm development and alters metabolic pathways related to spinning function and inflammation. The present study provides new information regarding the potential functions of H2S in insects and metabolic pathways related to this phenomenon.
硫化氢（H2S）是一种剧毒气体，具有臭鸡蛋的难闻气味。以前对 H2S 的研究主要集中在它对哺乳动物神经系统和呼吸系统的影响上。在这项研究中，我们采用基于液相色谱-质谱联用（LC-MS）的血淋巴代谢组学方法，研究了 H2S 暴露对家蚕发育参数和代谢物变化的影响。H2S 暴露后，家蚕的发育参数、体重、茧重、茧壳重和茧壳比明显增加，在 7.5-μM H2S 时效果最显著。H2S 暴露（7.5 μM）上调的代谢物与炎症有关，包括（6Z，9Z，12Z）-十八碳三烯酸、磷酸胆碱和苹果酸，而十六烷酸被下调。鉴定出的代谢物参与了生物过程，包括嘧啶、嘌呤和脂肪酸代谢，这可能影响丝腺功能。这些结果表明，H2S 有利于家蚕的发育，并改变了与吐丝功能和炎症相关的代谢途径。本研究为 H2S 在昆虫中的潜在功能和与这一现象相关的代谢途径提供了新的信息。
