Developmental expression of neuromodulators in the central complex of the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria

Multiplexed neuropeptide mapping in ant brains integrating microtomography and three-dimensional mass spectrometry imaging

Neuropeptides are important regulators of animal physiology and behavior. Hitherto the gold standard for the localization of neuropeptides have been immunohistochemical methods that require the synthesis of antibody panels, while another limiting factor has been the brain's opacity for subsequent in situ light or fluorescence microscopy. To address these limitations, we explored the integration of high-resolution mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) with microtomography for a multiplexed mapping of neuropeptides in two evolutionary distant ant species, Atta sexdens and Lasius niger. For analyzing the spatial distribution of chemically diverse peptide molecules across the brain in each species, the acquisition of serial mass spectrometry images was essential. As a result, we have comparatively mapped the three-dimensional (3D) distributions of eight conserved neuropeptides throughout the brain microanatomy. We demonstrate that integrating the 3D MSI data into high-resolution anatomy models can be critical for studying organs with high plasticity such as brains of social insects. Several peptides, like the tachykinin-related peptides (TK) 1 and 4, were widely distributed in many brain areas of both ant species, whereas others, for instance myosuppressin, were restricted to specific regions only. Also, we detected differences at the species level; many peptides were identified in the optic lobe of L. niger, but only one peptide (ITG-like) was found in this region in A. sexdens. Building upon MS imaging studies on neuropeptides in invertebrate model systems, our approach leverages correlative MSI and computed microtomography for investigating fundamental neurobiological processes by visualizing the unbiased 3D neurochemistry in its complex anatomic environment.

Recent advances in mass spectrometry analysis of neuropeptides

Due to their involvement in numerous biochemical pathways, neuropeptides have been the focus of many recent research studies. Unfortunately, classic analytical methods, such as western blots and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, are extremely limited in terms of global investigations, leading researchers to search for more advanced techniques capable of probing the entire neuropeptidome of an organism. With recent technological advances, mass spectrometry (MS) has provided methodology to gain global knowledge of a neuropeptidome on a spatial, temporal, and quantitative level. This review will cover key considerations for the analysis of neuropeptides by MS, including sample preparation strategies, instrumental advances for identification, structural characterization, and imaging; insightful functional studies; and newly developed absolute and relative quantitation strategies. While many discoveries have been made with MS, the methodology is still in its infancy. Many of the current challenges and areas that need development will also be highlighted in this review.

Neuropeptidomics: Improvements in Mass Spectrometry Imaging Analysis and Recent Advancements

Neuropeptides are an important class of endogenous peptides in the nervous system that regulate physiological functions such as feeding, glucose homeostasis, pain, memory, reproduction, and many others. In order to understand the functional role of neuropeptides in diseases or disorders, studies investigating their dysregulation in terms of changes in abundance and localization must be carried out. As multiple neuropeptides are believed to play a functional role in each physiological process, techniques capable of global profiling multiple neuropeptides simultaneously are desired. Mass spectrometry is well-suited for this goal due to its ability to perform untargeted measurements without prior comprehensive knowledge of the analytes of interest. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is particularly useful because it has the capability to image a large variety of peptides in a single experiment without labeling. Like all analytical techniques, careful sample preparation is critical to successful MSI analysis. The first half of this review focuses on recent developments in MSI sample preparation and instrumentation for analyzing neuropeptides and other biomolecules in which the sample preparation technique may be directly applicable for neuropeptide analysis. The benefit offered by incorporating these techniques is shown as improvement in a number of observable neuropeptides, enhanced signal to noise, increased spatial resolution, or a combination of these aspects. The second half of this review focuses on recent biological discoveries about neuropeptides resulting from these improvements in MSI analysis. The recent progress in neuropeptide detection and analysis methods, including the incorporation of various tissue washes, matrices, instruments, ionization sources, and computation approaches combined with the advancements in understanding neuropeptide function in a variety of model organisms, indicates the potential for the utilization of MSI analysis of neuropeptides in clinical settings.

A review of the actions of Nitric Oxide in development and neuronal function in major invertebrate model systems

Ever since the late-eighties when endothelium-derived relaxing factor was found to be the gas nitric oxide, endogenous nitric oxide production has been observed in virtually all animal groups tested and additionally in plants, diatoms, slime molds and bacteria. The fact that this new messenger was actually a gas and therefore didn't obey the established rules of neurotransmission made it even more intriguing. In just 30 years there is now too much information for useful comprehensive reviews even if limited to animals alone. Therefore this review attempts to survey the actions of nitric oxide on development and neuronal function in selected major invertebrate models only so allowing some detailed discussion but still covering most of the primary references. Invertebrate model systems have some very useful advantages over more expensive and demanding animal models such as large, easily identifiable neurons and simple circuits in tissues that are typically far easier to keep viable. A table summarizing this information along with the major relevant references has been included for convenience.

Sex differences in aggression: Differential roles of 5-HT2, neuropeptide F and tachykinin

Despite the conserved function of aggression across taxa in obtaining critical resources such as food and mates, serotonin's (5-HT) modulatory role on aggressive behavior appears to be largely inhibitory for vertebrates but stimulatory for invertebrates. However, critical gaps exist in our knowledge of invertebrates that need to be addressed before definitively stating opposing roles for 5-HT and aggression. Specifically, the role of 5-HT receptor subtypes are largely unknown, as is the potential interactive role of 5-HT with other neurochemical systems known to play a critical role in aggression. Similarly, the influence of these systems in driving sex differences in aggressive behavior of invertebrates is not well understood. Here, we investigated these questions by employing complementary approaches in a novel invertebrate model of aggression, the stalk-eyed fly. A combination of altered social conditions, pharmacological manipulation and 5-HT2 receptor knockdown by siRNA revealed an inhibitory role of this receptor subtype on aggression. Additionally, we provide evidence for 5-HT2's involvement in regulating neuropeptide F activity, a suspected inhibitor of aggression. However, this function appears to be stage-specific, altering only the initiation stage of aggressive conflicts. Alternatively, pharmacologically increasing systemic concentrations of 5-HT significantly elevated the expression of the neuropeptide tachykinin, which did not affect contest initiation but instead promoted escalation via production of high intensity aggressive behaviors. Notably, these effects were limited solely to males, with female aggression and neuropeptide expression remaining unaltered by any manipulation that affected 5-HT. Together, these results demonstrate a more nuanced role for 5-HT in modulating aggression in invertebrates, revealing an important interactive role with neuropeptides that is more reminiscent of vertebrates. The sex-differences described here also provide valuable insight into the evolutionary contexts of this complex behavior.

Insect-Like Organization of the Stomatopod Central Complex: Functional and Phylogenetic Implications

One approach to investigating functional attributes of the central complex is to relate its various elaborations to pancrustacean phylogeny, to taxon-specific behavioral repertoires and ecological settings. Here we review morphological similarities between the central complex of stomatopod crustaceans and the central complex of dicondylic insects. We discuss whether their central complexes possess comparable functional properties, despite the phyletic distance separating these taxa, with mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda) belonging to the basal branch of Eumalacostraca. Stomatopods possess the most elaborate visual receptor system in nature and display a fascinating behavioral repertoire, including refined appendicular dexterity such as independently moving eyestalks. They are also unparalleled in their ability to maneuver during both swimming and substrate locomotion. Like other pancrustaceans, stomatopods possess a set of midline neuropils, called the central complex, which in dicondylic insects have been shown to mediate the selection of motor actions for a range of behaviors. As in dicondylic insects, the stomatopod central complex comprises a modular protocerebral bridge (PB) supplying decussating axons to a scalloped fan-shaped body (FB) and its accompanying ellipsoid body (EB), which is linked to a set of paired noduli and other recognized satellite regions. We consider the functional implications of these attributes in the context of stomatopod behaviors, particularly of their eyestalks that can move independently or conjointly depending on the visual scene.

Development of the Neurochemical Architecture of the Central Complex

The central complex represents one of the most conspicuous neuroarchitectures to be found in the insect brain and regulates a wide repertoire of behaviors including locomotion, stridulation, spatial orientation and spatial memory. In this review article, we show that in the grasshopper, a model insect system, the intricate wiring of the fan-shaped body (FB) begins early in embryogenesis when axons from the first progeny of four protocerebral stem cells (called W, X, Y, Z, respectively) in each brain hemisphere establish a set of tracts to the primary commissural system. Decussation of subsets of commissural neurons at stereotypic locations across the brain midline then establishes a columnar neuroarchitecture in the FB which is completed during embryogenesis. Examination of the expression patterns of various neurochemicals in the central complex including neuropeptides, a neurotransmitter and the gas nitric oxide (NO), show that these appear progressively and in a substance-specific manner during embryogenesis. Each neuroactive substance is expressed by neurons located at stereotypic locations in a given central complex lineage, confirming that the stem cells are biochemically multipotent. The organization of axons expressing the various neurochemicals within the central complex is topologically related to the location, and hence birthdate, of the neurons within the lineages. The neurochemical expression patterns within the FB are layered, and so reflect the temporal topology present in the lineages. This principle relates the neuroanatomical to the neurochemical architecture of the central complex and so may provide insights into the development of adaptive behaviors.

Molecular characterization and expression profiles of neuropeptide precursors in the migratory locust

Neuropeptides serve as the most important regulatory signals in insects. Many neuropeptides and their precursors have been identified in terms of the contig sequences of whole genome information of the migratory locust (Locusta migratoria), which exhibits a typical phenotypic plasticity in morphology, behavior and physiology. However, functions of these locust neuropeptides are largely unknown. In this study, we first revised the 23 reported neuropeptide precursor genes and identified almost all the neuropeptide precursors and corresponding products in L. migratoria. We further revealed the significant expansion profiles (such as AKH) and alternative splicing of neuropeptide genes (Lom-ITP, Lom-OK and Lom-NPF1). Transcriptomic analysis indicated that several neuropeptides, such as Lom-ACP and Lom-OK, displayed development-specific expression patterns. qRT-PCR data confirmed that most neuropeptide precursors were strongly expressed in the central nervous system. Fifteen neuropeptide genes displayed different expression levels between solitarious and gregarious locusts. These findings provide valuable clues to understand neuropeptide evolution and their functional roles in basic biology and phase transition in locusts.

Functional neuropeptidomics in invertebrates

Neuropeptides are key messengers in almost all physiological processes. They originate from larger precursors and are extensively processed to become bioactive. Neuropeptidomics aims to comprehensively identify the collection of neuropeptides in an organism, organ, tissue or cell. The neuropeptidome of several invertebrates is thoroughly explored since they are important model organisms (and models for human diseases), disease vectors and pest species. The charting of the neuropeptidome is the first step towards understanding peptidergic signaling. This review will first discuss the latest developments in exploring the neuropeptidome. The physiological roles and modes of action of neuropeptides can be explored in two ways, which are largely orthogonal and therefore complementary. The first way consists of inferring the functions of neuropeptides by a forward approach where neuropeptide profiles are compared under different physiological conditions. Second is the reverse approach were neuropeptide collections are used to screen for receptor-binding. This is followed by localization studies and functional tests. This review will focus on how these different functional screening methods contributed to the field of invertebrate neuropeptidomics and expanded our knowledge of peptidergic signaling. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Neuroproteomics: Applications in Neuroscience and Neurology.

Neuropeptidome of Tribolium castaneum antennal lobes and mushroom bodies

Neuropeptides are a highly diverse group of signaling molecules that affect a broad range of biological processes in insects, including development, metabolism, behavior, and reproduction. In the central nervous system, neuropeptides are usually considered to act as neuromodulators and cotransmitters that modify the effect of "classical" transmitters at the synapse. The present study analyzes the neuropeptide repertoire of higher cerebral neuropils in the brain of the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. We focus on two integrative neuropils of the olfactory pathway, the antennal lobes and the mushroom bodies. Using the technique of direct peptide profiling by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry, we demonstrate that these neuropils can be characterized by their specific neuropeptide expression profiles. Complementary immunohistological analyses of selected neuropeptides revealed neuropeptide distribution patterns within the antennal lobes and the mushroom bodies. Both approaches revealed consistent differences between the neuropils, underlining that direct peptide profiling by mass spectrometry is a fast and reliable method to identify neuropeptide content.

Timelines in the insect brain: fates of identified neural stem cells generating the central complex in the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria

This study employs labels for cell proliferation and cell death, as well as classical histology to examine the fates of all eight neural stem cells (neuroblasts) whose progeny generate the central complex of the grasshopper brain during embryogenesis. These neuroblasts delaminate from the neuroectoderm between 25 and 30 % of embryogenesis and form a linear array running from ventral (neuroblasts Z, Y, X, and W) to dorsal (neuroblasts 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, and 1-5) along the medial border of each protocerebral hemisphere. Their stereotypic location within the array, characteristic size, and nuclear morphologies, identify these neuroblasts up to about 70 % of embryogenesis after which cell shrinkage and shape changes render progressively more cells histologically unrecognizable. Molecular labels show all neuroblasts in the array are proliferative up to 70 % of embryogenesis, but subsequently first the more ventral cells (72-75 %), and then the dorsal ones (77-80 %), cease proliferation. By contrast, neuroblasts elsewhere in the brain and optic lobe remain proliferative. Apoptosis markers label the more ventral neuroblasts first (70-72 %), then the dorsal cells (77 %), and the absence of any labeling thereafter confirms that central complex neuroblasts have exited the cell cycle via programmed cell death. Our data reveal appearance, proliferation, and cell death proceeding as successive waves from ventral to dorsal along the array of neuroblasts. The resulting timelines offer a temporal blueprint for building the neuroarchitecture of the various modules of the central complex.

Molecular and functional characterization of the first tick CAP2b (periviscerokinin) receptor from Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Acari: Ixodidae)

The cDNA of the receptor for CAP(2b)/periviscerokinin (PVK) neuropeptides, designated Rhimi-CAP(2b)-R, was cloned from synganglia of tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus. This receptor is the ortholog of the insect CAP(2b)/PVK receptor, as concluded from analyses of the predicted protein sequence, phylogenetics and functional expression. Expression analyses of synganglion, salivary gland, Malpighian tubule, and ovary revealed Rhimi-CAP(2b)-R transcripts. The expression in mammalian cells of the open reading frame of Rhimi-CAP(2b)-R cDNA fused with a hemagglutinin tag at the receptor N-terminus was confirmed by immunocytochemistry. In a calcium bioluminescence assay the recombinant receptor was activated by the tick Ixodes scapularis CAP(2b)/PVK and a PVK analog with EC₅₀s of 64 nM and 249 nM, respectively. Tick pyrokinins were not active. This is the first report on the functional characterization of the CAP(2b)/PVK receptor from any tick species which will now permit the discovery of the physiological roles of these neuropeptides in ticks, as neurohormones, neuromodulators and/or neurotransmitters.

A developmental study of serotonin-immunoreactive neurons in the embryonic brain of the marbled crayfish and the migratory locust: evidence for a homologous protocerebral group of neurons

It is well established that the brains of adult malacostracan crustaceans and winged insects display distinct homologies down to the level of single neuropils such as the central complex and the optic neuropils. We wanted to know if developing insect and crustacean brains also share similarities and therefore have explored how neurotransmitter systems arise during arthropod embryogenesis. Previously, Sintoni et al. (2007) had already reported a homology of an individually identified cluster of neurons in the embryonic crayfish and insect brain, the secondary head spot cells that express the Engrailed protein. In the present study, we have documented the ontogeny of the serotonergic system in embryonic brains of the Marbled Crayfish in comparison to Migratory Locust embryos using immunohistochemical methods combined with confocal laser-scan microscopy. In both species, we found a cluster of early emerging serotonin-immunoreactive neurons in the protocerebrum with neurites that cross to the contralateral brain hemisphere in a characteristic commissure suggesting a homology of this cell cluster. Our study is a first step towards a phylogenetic analysis of neurotransmitter system development and shows that, as for the ventral nerve cord, traits related to neurogenesis in the brain can provide valuable hints for resolving the much debated question of arthropod phylogeny.

Deep homology of arthropod central complex and vertebrate basal ganglia

The arthropod central complex and vertebrate basal ganglia derive from embryonic basal forebrain lineages that are specified by an evolutionarily conserved genetic program leading to interconnected neuropils and nuclei that populate the midline of the forebrain-midbrain boundary region. In the substructures of both the central complex and basal ganglia, network connectivity and neuronal activity mediate control mechanisms in which inhibitory (GABAergic) and modulatory (dopaminergic) circuits facilitate the regulation and release of adaptive behaviors. Both basal ganglia and central complex dysfunction result in behavioral defects including motor abnormalities, impaired memory formation, attention deficits, affective disorders, and sleep disturbances. The observed multitude of similarities suggests deep homology of arthropod central complex and vertebrate basal ganglia circuitries underlying the selection and maintenance of behavioral actions.

Postembryonic development of astrocyte-like glia of the central complex in the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria

Central complex modules in the postembryonic brain of the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria are enveloped by Repo-positive/glutamine-synthetase-positive astrocyte-like glia. Such cells constitute Rind-Neuropil Interface glia. We have investigated the postembryonic development of these glia and their anatomical relationship to axons originating from the w, x, y, z tract system of the pars intercerebralis. Based on glutamine synthetase immunolabeling, we have identified four morphological types of cells: bipolar type 1 glia delimit the central body but only innervate its neuropil superficially; monopolar type 2 glia have a more columnar morphology and direct numerous gliopodia into the neuropil where they arborize extensively; monopolar type 3 glia are found predominantly in the region between the noduli and the central body and have a dendritic morphology and their gliopodia project deeply into the central body neuropil where they arborize extensively; multipolar type 4 glia link the central body neuropil with neighboring neuropils of the protocerebrum. These glia occupy type-specific distributions around the central body. Their gliopodia develop late in embryogenesis, elongate and generally become denser during subsequent postembryonic development. Gliopodia from putatively type 3 glia within the central body have been shown to lie closely apposed to individual axons of identified columnar fiber bundles from the w, x, y, z tract system of the central complex. This anatomical association might offer a substrate for neuron/glia interactions mediating postembryonic maturation of the central complex.

The monarch butterfly genome yields insights into long-distance migration

We present the draft 273 Mb genome of the migratory monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and a set of 16,866 protein-coding genes. Orthology properties suggest that the Lepidoptera are the fastest evolving insect order yet examined. Compared to the silkmoth Bombyx mori, the monarch genome shares prominent similarity in orthology content, microsynteny, and protein family sizes. The monarch genome reveals a vertebrate-like opsin whose existence in insects is widespread; a full repertoire of molecular components for the monarch circadian clockwork; all members of the juvenile hormone biosynthetic pathway whose regulation shows unexpected sexual dimorphism; additional molecular signatures of oriented flight behavior; microRNAs that are differentially expressed between summer and migratory butterflies; monarch-specific expansions of chemoreceptors potentially important for long-distance migration; and a variant of the sodium/potassium pump that underlies a valuable chemical defense mechanism. The monarch genome enhances our ability to better understand the genetic and molecular basis of long-distance migration.

Embryonic development of the insect central complex: insights from lineages in the grasshopper and Drosophila

The neurons of the insect brain derive from neuroblasts which delaminate from the neuroectoderm at stereotypic locations during early embryogenesis. In both grasshopper and Drosophila, each developing neuroblast acquires an intrinsic capacity for neuronal proliferation in a cell autonomous manner and generates a specific lineage of neural progeny which is nearly invariant and unique. Maps revealing numbers and distributions of brain neuroblasts now exist for various species, and in both grasshopper and Drosophila four putatively homologous neuroblasts have been identified whose progeny direct axons to the protocerebral bridge and then to the central body via an equivalent set of tracts. Lineage analysis in the grasshopper nervous system reveals that the progeny of a neuroblast maintain their topological position within the lineage throughout embryogenesis. We have taken advantage of this to study the pioneering of the so-called w, x, y, z tracts, to show how fascicle switching generates central body neuroarchitecture, and to evaluate the roles of so-called intermediate progenitors as well as programmed cell death in shaping lineage structure. The novel form of neurogenesis involving intermediate progenitors has been demonstrated in grasshopper, Drosophila and mammalian cortical development and may represent a general strategy for increasing brain size and complexity. An analysis of gap junctional communication involving serotonergic cells reveals an intrinsic cellular organization which may relate to the presence of such transient progenitors in central complex lineages.