Occurrence of resilin and its significance in the cuticle of Pennella elegans, a copepod parasite.

The cuticle of the region connecting the anterior and posterior half of the body of parasite shows two peculiarities. The epicuticle is folded and the lamellations in the outer region of the procuticle are wavy. Histochemical tests and investigations with fluorescent compounds showed that there is evidence of stabilization of the cuticle protein by formation of di- and trityrosine links as reported in the wing ligament cuticle of insects and elastic leg-hinge of the crayfish. By chromatography analysis, the above two amino acids were isolated and were found to be involved in the stabilization of resilin. In the light of above findings it is suggested that this may be related to this region serving as a flexible hinge.