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Jahn S, Althaus V, Heckmann J, Janning M, Seip AK, Takahashi N, Grigoriev C, Kolano J, Homberg U. Neuroarchitecture of the central complex in the Madeira cockroach Rhyparobia maderae: Pontine and columnar neuronal cell types. J Comp Neurol 2023; 531:1689-1714. [PMID: 37608556 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25535] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2023]
Abstract
Insects have evolved remarkable abilities to navigate over short distances and during long-range seasonal migrations. The central complex (CX) is a navigation center in the insect brain that controls spatial orientation and directed locomotion. It is composed of the protocerebral bridge (PB), the upper (CBU) and lower (CBL) division of the central body, and a pair of noduli. While most of its functional organization and involvement in head-direction coding has been obtained from work on flies, bees, and locusts that largely rely on vision for navigation, little contribution has been provided by work on nocturnal species. To close this gap, we have investigated the columnar organization of the CX in the cockroach Rhyparobia maderae. Rhyparobia maderae is a highly agile nocturnal insect that relies largely but not exclusively on antennal information for navigation. A particular feature of the cockroach CX is an organization of the CBU and CBL into interleaved series of eight and nine columns. Single-cell tracer injections combined with imaging and 3D analysis revealed five systems of pontine neurons connecting columns along the vertical and horizontal axis and 18 systems of columnar neurons with topographically organized projection patterns. Among these are six types of neurons with no correspondence in other species. Many neurons send processes into the anterior lip, a brain area highly reduced in bees and unknown in flies. While sharing many features with the CX in other species, the cockroach CX shows some unique attributes that may be related to the ecological niche of this insect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefanie Jahn
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Vanessa Althaus
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Jannik Heckmann
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Mona Janning
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Ann-Katrin Seip
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Naomi Takahashi
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Clara Grigoriev
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Juliana Kolano
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Uwe Homberg
- Animal Physiology, Department of Biology, Philipps University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
- Center for Mind Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
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Massah A, Neupert S, Brodesser S, Homberg U, Stengl M. Distribution and daily oscillation of GABA in the circadian system of the cockroach Rhyparobia maderae. J Comp Neurol 2021; 530:770-791. [PMID: 34586642 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the prevalent inhibitory neurotransmitter in nervous systems promoting sleep in both mammals and insects. In the Madeira cockroach, sleep-wake cycles are controlled by a circadian clock network in the brain's optic lobes, centered in the accessory medulla (AME) with its innervating pigment-dispersing factor (PDF) expressing clock neurons at the anterior-ventral rim of the medulla. GABA is present in cell clusters that innervate different circuits of the cockroach's AME clock, without colocalizing in PDF clock neurons. Physiological, immunohistochemical, and behavioral assays provided evidence for a role of GABA in light entrainment, possibly via the distal tract that connects the AME's glomeruli to the medulla. Furthermore, GABA was implemented in clock outputs to multiple effector systems in optic lobe and midbrain. Here, GABAergic brain circuits were analyzed further, focusing on the circadian system in search for sleep/wake controlling brain circuits. All GABA-immunoreactive neurons of the cockroach brain were also stained with an antiserum against the GABA-synthesizing enzyme glutamic acid decarboxylase. We found strong overlap of the distribution of GABA-immunoreactive networks with PDF clock networks in optic lobes and midbrain. Neurons in five of the six soma groups that innervate the clock exhibited GABA immunoreactivity. The intensity of GABA immunoreactivity in the distal tract showed daily fluctuations with maximum staining intensity in the middle of the day and weakest staining at the end of the day. Quantification via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and quantitative liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, likewise, showed higher GABA levels in the optic lobe during the inactivity phase of the cockroach during the day and lower levels during its activity phase at dusk. Our data further support the hypothesis that light- and PDF-dependently the circadian clock network of the cockroach controls GABA levels and thereby promotes sleep during the day.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azar Massah
- Institute of Biology, Animal Physiology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
| | - Susanne Neupert
- Institute of Biology, Animal Physiology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
| | - Susanne Brodesser
- Cluster of Excellence Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases (CECAD), Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital of Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Uwe Homberg
- Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, Germany.,Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Giessen, Marburg, Germany
| | - Monika Stengl
- Institute of Biology, Animal Physiology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
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Arnold T, Korek S, Massah A, Eschstruth D, Stengl M. Candidates for photic entrainment pathways to the circadian clock via optic lobe neuropils in the Madeira cockroach. J Comp Neurol 2020; 528:1754-1774. [PMID: 31860126 DOI: 10.1002/cne.24844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2019] [Revised: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 12/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The compound eye of cockroaches is obligatory for entrainment of the Madeira cockroach's circadian clock, but the cellular nature of its entrainment pathways is enigmatic. Employing multiple-label immunocytochemistry, histochemistry, and backfills, we searched for photic entrainment pathways to the accessory medulla (AME), the circadian clock of the Madeira cockroach. We wanted to know whether photoreceptor terminals could directly contact pigment-dispersing factor-immunoreactive (PDF-ir) circadian pacemaker neurons with somata in the lamina (PDFLAs) or somata next to the AME (PDFMEs). Short green-sensitive photoreceptor neurons of the compound eye terminated in lamina layers LA1 and LA2, adjacent to PDFLAs and PDFMEs that branched in LA3. Long UV-sensitive compound eye photoreceptor neurons terminated in medulla layer ME2 without direct contact to ipsilateral PDFMEs that arborized in ME4. Multiple neuropeptide-ir interneurons branched in ME4, connecting the AME to ME2. Before, extraocular photoreceptors of the lamina organ were suggested to send terminals to accessory laminae. There, they overlapped with PDFLAs that mostly colocalized PDF, FMRFamide, and 5-HT immunoreactivities, and with terminals of ipsi- and contralateral PDFMEs. We hypothesize that during the day cholinergic activation of the largest PDFME via lamina organ photoreceptors maintains PDF release orchestrating phases of sleep-wake cycles. As ipsilateral PDFMEs express excitatory and contralateral PDFMEs inhibitory PDF autoreceptors, diurnal PDF release keeps both PDF-dependent clock circuits in antiphase. Future experiments will test whether ipsilateral PDFMEs are sleep-promoting morning cells, while contralateral PDFMEs are activity-promoting evening cells, maintaining stable antiphase via the largest PDFME entrained by extraocular photoreceptors of the lamina organ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thordis Arnold
- FB 10, Biology, Animal Physiology/Neuroethology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
| | - Sebastian Korek
- FB 10, Biology, Animal Physiology/Neuroethology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
| | - Azar Massah
- FB 10, Biology, Animal Physiology/Neuroethology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
| | - David Eschstruth
- FB 10, Biology, Animal Physiology/Neuroethology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
| | - Monika Stengl
- FB 10, Biology, Animal Physiology/Neuroethology, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany
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Helfrich-Förster C. Light input pathways to the circadian clock of insects with an emphasis on the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2019; 206:259-272. [PMID: 31691095 PMCID: PMC7069913 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-019-01379-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Revised: 10/19/2019] [Accepted: 10/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Light is the most important Zeitgeber for entraining animal activity rhythms to the 24-h day. In all animals, the eyes are the main visual organs that are not only responsible for motion and colour (image) vision, but also transfer light information to the circadian clock in the brain. The way in which light entrains the circadian clock appears, however, variable in different species. As do vertebrates, insects possess extraretinal photoreceptors in addition to their eyes (and ocelli) that are sometimes located close to (underneath) the eyes, but sometimes even in the central brain. These extraretinal photoreceptors contribute to entrainment of their circadian clocks to different degrees. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is special, because it expresses the blue light-sensitive cryptochrome (CRY) directly in its circadian clock neurons, and CRY is usually regarded as the fly’s main circadian photoreceptor. Nevertheless, recent studies show that the retinal and extraretinal eyes transfer light information to almost every clock neuron and that the eyes are similarly important for entraining the fly’s activity rhythm as in other insects, or more generally spoken in other animals. Here, I compare the light input pathways between selected insect species with a focus on Drosophila’s special case.
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Giese M, Wei H, Stengl M. Circadian pacemaker neurons of the Madeira cockroach are inhibited and activated by GABA
A
and GABA
B
receptors. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 51:282-299. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2018] [Accepted: 11/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Giese
- FB10, Biology, Animal PhysiologyUniversity of Kassel Kassel Germany
| | - HongYing Wei
- FB10, Biology, Animal PhysiologyUniversity of Kassel Kassel Germany
| | - Monika Stengl
- FB10, Biology, Animal PhysiologyUniversity of Kassel Kassel Germany
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Giese M, Gestrich J, Massah A, Peterle J, Wei H, Stengl M. GABA- and serotonin-expressing neurons take part in inhibitory as well as excitatory input pathways to the circadian clock of the Madeira cockroach Rhyparobia maderae. Eur J Neurosci 2018; 47:1067-1080. [PMID: 29430734 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2017] [Revised: 01/20/2018] [Accepted: 02/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
In the Madeira cockroach, pigment-dispersing factor-immunoreactive (PDF-ir) neurons innervating the circadian clock, the accessory medulla (AME) in the brain's optic lobes, control circadian behaviour. Circadian activity rhythms are entrained to daily light-dark cycles only by compound eye photoreceptors terminating in the lamina and medulla. Still, it is unknown which neurons connect the photoreceptors to the clock to allow for light entrainment. Here, we characterized by multiple-label immunocytochemistry the serotonin (5-HT)-ir anterior fibre fan and GABA-ir pathways connecting the AME- and optic lobe neuropils. Colocalization of 5-HT with PDF was confirmed in PDF-ir lamina neurons (PDFLAs). Double-labelled fibres were traced to the AME originating from colabelled PDFLAs branching in accessory laminae and proximal lamina. The newly discovered GABA-ir medial layer fibre tract connected the AME to the medulla's medial layer fibre system, and the distal tract fibres connected the AME to the medulla. With Ca2+ imaging on primary cell cultures of the AME and with loose-patch-clamp recordings in vivo, we showed that both neurotransmitters either excite or inhibit AME clock neurons. Because we found no colocalization of GABA and 5-HT in any optic lobe neuron, GABA- and 5-HT neurons form separate clock input circuits. Among others, both pathways converged also on AME neurons that coexpressed mostly inhibitory GABA- and excitatory 5-HT receptors. Our physiological and immunocytochemical studies demonstrate that GABA- and 5-HT-immunoreactive neurons constitute parallel excitatory or inhibitory pathways connecting the circadian clock either to the lamina or medulla where photic information from the compound eye is processed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Giese
- Animal Physiology/Neurobiology, Biology, FB10, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132, Kassel, Germany
| | - Julia Gestrich
- Animal Physiology/Neurobiology, Biology, FB10, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132, Kassel, Germany
| | - Azar Massah
- Animal Physiology/Neurobiology, Biology, FB10, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132, Kassel, Germany
| | - Jonas Peterle
- Animal Physiology/Neurobiology, Biology, FB10, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132, Kassel, Germany
| | - HongYing Wei
- Animal Physiology/Neurobiology, Biology, FB10, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132, Kassel, Germany
| | - Monika Stengl
- Animal Physiology/Neurobiology, Biology, FB10, University of Kassel, Heinrich-Plett-Str. 40, 34132, Kassel, Germany
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Nguyen TV, Rotllant GE, Cummins SF, Elizur A, Ventura T. Insights Into Sexual Maturation and Reproduction in the Norway Lobster ( Nephrops norvegicus) via in silico Prediction and Characterization of Neuropeptides and G Protein-coupled Receptors. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2018; 9:430. [PMID: 30100897 PMCID: PMC6073857 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2018.00430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 07/11/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Multiple biological processes across development and reproduction are modulated by neuropeptides that are predominantly produced and secreted from an animal's central nervous system. In the past few years, advancement of next-generation sequencing technologies has enabled large-scale prediction of putative neuropeptide genes in multiple non-model species, including commercially important decapod crustaceans. In contrast, knowledge of the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), through which neuropeptides act on target cells, is still very limited. In the current study, we have used in silico transcriptome analysis to elucidate genes encoding neuropeptides and GPCRs in the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus), which is one of the most valuable crustaceans in Europe. Fifty-seven neuropeptide precursor-encoding transcripts were detected, including phoenixin, a vertebrate neurohormone that has not been detected in any invertebrate species prior to this study. Neuropeptide gene expression analysis of immature and mature female N. norvegicus, revealed that some reproduction-related neuropeptides are almost exclusively expressed in immature females. In addition, a total of 223 GPCR-encoding transcripts were identified, of which 116 encode GPCR-A (Rhodopsin), 44 encode GPCR-B (Secretin) and 63 encode other GPCRs. Our findings increase the molecular toolbox of neural signaling components in N. norvegicus, allowing for further advances in the fisheries/larvae culture of this species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tuan V. Nguyen
- GeneCology Research Centre, Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia
| | - Guiomar E. Rotllant
- Institute de Ciències del Mar, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Passeig Marítim de la Barceloneta, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Scott F. Cummins
- GeneCology Research Centre, Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia
| | - Abigail Elizur
- GeneCology Research Centre, Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia
| | - Tomer Ventura
- GeneCology Research Centre, Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia
- *Correspondence: Tomer Ventura
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Gestrich J, Giese M, Shen W, Zhang Y, Voss A, Popov C, Stengl M, Wei H. Sensitivity to Pigment-Dispersing Factor (PDF) Is Cell-Type Specific among PDF-Expressing Circadian Clock Neurons in the Madeira Cockroach. J Biol Rhythms 2017; 33:35-51. [PMID: 29179611 DOI: 10.1177/0748730417739471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Transplantation studies have pinpointed the circadian clock of the Madeira cockroach to the accessory medulla (AME) of the brain's optic lobes. The AME is innervated by approximately 240 adjacent neuropeptidergic neurons, including 12 pigment-dispersing factor (PDF)-expressing neurons anterior to the AME (aPDFMEs). Four of the aPDFMEs project contralaterally, controlling locomotor activity rhythms of the night-active cockroach. The present in vitro Ca2+ imaging analysis focuses on contralaterally projecting AME neurons and their responses to PDF, GABA, and acetylcholine (ACh). First, rhodamine-dextran backfills from the contralateral optic stalk identified contralaterally projecting AME neurons, which were then dispersed in primary cell cultures. After characterization of PDF, GABA, and ACh responses, PDF immunocytochemistry identified ipsilaterally and contralaterally projecting PDFMEs. All PDF-sensitive clock neurons, PDF-immunoreactive clock neurons, and the majority of ipsilaterally and contralaterally projecting cells were excited by ACh. GABA inhibited all PDF-expressing clock neurons, and about half of other ipsilaterally projecting and most contralaterally projecting clock neurons. For the first time, we identified PDF autoreceptors in PDF-secreting cockroach circadian pacemakers. The medium-sized aPDFMEs and all other contralaterally projecting PDF-sensitive clock cells were inhibited by PDF. The ipsilaterally remaining small PDF-sensitive clock cells were activated by PDF. Only the largest aPDFME did not express PDF autoreceptors. We hypothesize that opposing PDF signaling generates 2 different ensembles of clock cells with antiphasic activity, regulating and maintaining a constant phase relationship between rest and activity cycles of the night-active cockroach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Gestrich
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Kassel, Germany
| | - Maria Giese
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Kassel, Germany
| | - Wen Shen
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Kassel, Germany
| | - Yi Zhang
- Institute of Nanostructure Technologies and Analytics, Center of Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel, Germany
| | - Alexandra Voss
- Institute of Nanostructure Technologies and Analytics, Center of Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel, Germany
| | - Cyril Popov
- Institute of Nanostructure Technologies and Analytics, Center of Interdisciplinary Nanostructure Science and Technology (CINSaT), University of Kassel, Germany
| | - Monika Stengl
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Kassel, Germany
| | - HongYing Wei
- Department of Animal Physiology, University of Kassel, Germany
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