Gazi University Journal of Science, cilt.33, sa.3, ss.630-644, 2020 (ESCI)
The excretory system in insects consists of Malpighian tubules (MTs) which are responsible for osmoregulation. The functions of the MTs are the removal of the last products of metabolism and the transfer of the toxic compounds into the hindgut. The MTs of the insects vary structurally. In this study, the MTs of Isophya nervosa Ramme, 1951, which is a species that belongs to Orthoptera order, were investigated by light and electron microscopes. Adult individuals of Isophya nervosa were collected in Kizilcahamam, Ankara in 2017 and 2018. Extracted MTs were fixed in Formaldehyde for light microscopy, in glutaraldehyde for electron microscopes. They were examined and photographed after dehydration, blocking, sectioning and staining processes were completed. This species has a great number of MTs. One end of the MTs in this species is attached to the ileum and the other closed end is free in hemolymph. The outer surface of the cells is surrounded by muscle layers and trachea. There are microvilli on the apical region of cells. The lumen is covered with a monolayer cuboidal epithelium. Numerous concentrically layered spherocrystals in different shapes were observed in the cells. When the chemical compositions of these spherocrystals were analyzed by SEM-EDX system, it was seen that the contents of them were different ions such as iron (Fe), carbon (C), phosphorus (P), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), calcium (Ca), and manganese (Mn).