2020 Online Salon
Cant live without you
Project Details
- Entrant Name: Chris Bickel
- Membership Type: Professional Submission
- Address: Ashland, Virginia USA
- Client: Science Magazine
- Copyright: 2019 AAAS, Science Magazine
- Medium/software used: Cinema 4D, Illustrator, Photoshop
- Final presentation format: Feature infographic
- Primary Audience: Scientific community
Project Description
Aphids dine on sap they suck from a plant’s phloem, or circulatory system, but that diet lacks key nutrients. These insects rely on internal bacteria called Buchnera to convert amino acids in sap, such as glutamate, into ones they are missing. The bacteria, in turn, benefit from other nutrients and shelter provided by the aphid.
So complete is the partnership between the aphid and Buchnera that the insect has evolved specialized cells called bacteriocytes that house the bacteria. These cells reside in the body cavity of the aphid and are transferred to developing embryos during the early phases of growth and replication.
