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The structural analysis of secretion in the freshwater mite Limnesia maculata (Acariformes, Limnesiidae) supports the idea of a new form of arthropod silk

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Abstract

The structural characteristics of silk secretion of the freshwater mite Limnesia maculata (O.F. Müller) (Acariformes, Limnesiidae) are described and analyzed for the first time based on light, atomic force and electron-microscopical approaches. The common dermal glands (14 pairs scattered over the body) produce silk mostly during the warm summer season. The process of silk secretion lasts from several hours to several days. The silk may appear like barely recognized clouds of a fine whitish substance. An individual silk thread is an indefinitely long uniform unbranched and non-stretchable tube, hollow or with a vesicular electron-dense residual content. In the silk bundle, threads may be freely interlaced, bent, curved or occasionally broken. The diameter of the tubes is in the range of 0.9–1.5 µm. The width of the tube walls varies greatly from 60 to 300 nm. Chaotically interlaced fine fibrils build the tube walls. On the external surface of the tube wall, these fibrils are loosely organized and frequently rising vertically, whereas on the internal side they are packed more tightly sometimes showing a mesh. The walls may reveal a layered structure or, contrary, are quite thin with through foramens. The revealed organization of silk in the freshwater mites is found to be the simplest among that of other arthropods. We propose a role of the silk in the capture of potential prey in the summer season. Silk in water mites significantly widens the wholesome area for the mites' life and gives them better chances in competition for potential resources.

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Data availability

The datasets obtained and analyzed during the current study are available at the Laboratory of Parasitic Arthropods in Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This study is undertaken and performed under the State Government Research Programs ## 122031100263-1, 122031100275-4 and 122031100281-5. The TEM, SEM and CLSM procedures were completed using the Core Facilities Centre ‘Taxon’ at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg, Russia, https://www.ckp-rf.ru/ckp/3038/). The AFM methods were performed in the Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis (St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia). We thank to Dr. S.V. Shabelnikov (Institute of Cytology Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia) for his assistance and consultations on the spectroscopic methods.

Funding

This work was supported by the State Government Research Programs ## 122031100263-1 (A.B. Shatrov), 122031100275-4 (E.V. Soldatenko) and 122031100281-5 (A.A. Petrov).

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  1. Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Science, Universitetskaya nab. 1, St. Petersburg, Russia, 199034

    Andrey B. Shatrov, Elena V. Soldatenko & Anatoly A. Petrov

  2. Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis, St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya nab. 7/9, St. Petersburg, Russia, 199034

    Konstantin A. Benken

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AS performed the experiments, wrote the main manuscript text and prepared figures, ES kept mites in laboratory culture, KB performed AFM processing, AP performed confocal laser processing, All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Shatrov, A.B., Soldatenko, E.V., Benken, K.A. et al. The structural analysis of secretion in the freshwater mite Limnesia maculata (Acariformes, Limnesiidae) supports the idea of a new form of arthropod silk. Exp Appl Acarol 90, 277–300 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-023-00826-y

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