The larvae of Asian rhinoceros beetle, Trypoxylus [Allomyrina] dichotoma (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) feed on decaying organic matter and can be found in compost heaps or old dead logs. Mass rearing of this insect with a sawdust-based diet has made it popular commercial pet in many countries of Asia. Recently, lignocellulose, or biomass has been focused as renewable and sustainable resources for energy and many chemical products. It is well-known that gut symbiotic microbes in consortia are inevitable for the lignocellulose digestion in many insects. The cellulase and xylanase activity of the crude extracts from each gut contents and tissues, feces, and blood as a control from Asian rhinoceros beetle were analyzed with the overlaid agar-plate assay and spectrophotometric reduced sugar determination. In the plate assay, the highest activity of cellulase and xylanase was observed from midgut tissue extracts, and next from midgut contents, and minor activity from feces. Whereas no enzyme activity was detected from the samples from blood, crop, and hind gut. Similar results were confirmed from the reducing sugar assay with substrates of Avicell and xylan from birchwood, respectively. Further research on the biochemical and genetic property of symbiotic microbes and their enzymes relating on the lignocellulose degradation is planned.

이 연구는 자주복의 개체발생 단계에 따른 소화관 외부형태의 변화와 소화관의 발달 양상을 조직학적으로 조사하였다. 부화 직전 수정란의 소화관은 난황낭과 배체의 척추 사이에 위치하였고, 형태는 거의 직선상 이었다. 입은 부화 후 2일째, 항문은 부화 후 4일째 열렸다. 부화 후 4일째 소화관은 식도, 전장, 중장 그리고 직장으로 구분이 되었고, 전장과 중장이 괄약근에 의해 구분되었다. 부화 후 5일째 자어는 전장과 중장 사이가 배측으로 굴곡되었고, 식도상피