Summary
The midgut epithelial basement membranes in 13 species of Coleoptera belonging to 11 families have been examined ultrastructurally and are described in the present work. Regular grid-like substructures are present in 6 species. One of the basement membranes possessing a regular structure is roughly characterized histochemically on the light microscopic level; it contains tyrosine-rich protein and PAS-positive carbohydrate but apparently no acid mucosubstances.
The function of these peculiar substructures is entirely unknown. No correlation between the feeding biology of the beetles and the occurrence and morphology of the substructures has been found. It may, however, be possible to link the substructures with the systematic position of the animals. This is supported by the fact that exactly the same characteristic pattern of substructures has been found in the four investigated species belonging to Polyphaga-Haplogastra and not anywhere else.
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Holter, P. Regular grid-like substructures in the midgut epithelial basement membrane of some Coleoptera. Z. Zellforsch. 110, 373–385 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00321148
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00321148