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Wright NJD. A review of the actions of Nitric Oxide in development and neuronal function in major invertebrate model systems. AIMS Neurosci 2019; 6:146-174. [PMID: 32341974 PMCID: PMC7179362 DOI: 10.3934/neuroscience.2019.3.146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2019] [Accepted: 07/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas J D Wright
- Associate professor of pharmacy, Wingate University School of Pharmacy, Wingate, NC28174, USA
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2
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Balvantray Bhavsar M, Stumpner A, Heinrich R. Brain regions for sound processing and song release in a small grasshopper. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2017; 99:15-24. [PMID: 28285921 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2017.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2016] [Revised: 03/08/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
We investigated brain regions - mostly neuropils - that process auditory information relevant for the initiation of response songs of female grasshoppers Chorthippus biguttulus during bidirectional intraspecific acoustic communication. Male-female acoustic duets in the species Ch. biguttulus require the perception of sounds, their recognition as a species- and gender-specific signal and the initiation of commands that activate thoracic pattern generating circuits to drive the sound-producing stridulatory movements of the hind legs. To study sensory-to-motor processing during acoustic communication we used multielectrodes that allowed simultaneous recordings of acoustically stimulated electrical activity from several ascending auditory interneurons or local brain neurons and subsequent electrical stimulation of the recording site. Auditory activity was detected in the lateral protocerebrum (where most of the described ascending auditory interneurons terminate), in the superior medial protocerebrum and in the central complex, that has previously been implicated in the control of sound production. Neural responses to behaviorally attractive sound stimuli showed no or only poor correlation with behavioral responses. Current injections into the lateral protocerebrum, the central complex and the deuto-/tritocerebrum (close to the cerebro-cervical fascicles), but not into the superior medial protocerebrum, elicited species-typical stridulation with high success rate. Latencies and numbers of phrases produced by electrical stimulation were different between these brain regions. Our results indicate three brain regions (likely neuropils) where auditory activity can be detected with two of these regions being potentially involved in song initiation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mit Balvantray Bhavsar
- University of Göttingen, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach-Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, Department of Cellular Neurobiology, Julia Lermontowa-Weg 3, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Andreas Stumpner
- University of Göttingen, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach-Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, Department of Cellular Neurobiology, Julia Lermontowa-Weg 3, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ralf Heinrich
- University of Göttingen, Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach-Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, Department of Cellular Neurobiology, Julia Lermontowa-Weg 3, D-37077 Göttingen, Germany
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3
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Berdan EL, Mazzoni CJ, Waurick I, Roehr JT, Mayer F. A population genomic scan in Chorthippus grasshoppers unveils previously unknown phenotypic divergence. Mol Ecol 2015; 24:3918-30. [PMID: 26081018 DOI: 10.1111/mec.13276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2015] [Revised: 06/10/2015] [Accepted: 06/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the genetics of speciation and the processes that drive it is a central goal of evolutionary biology. Grasshoppers of the Chorthippus species group differ strongly in calling song (and corresponding female preferences) but are exceedingly similar in other characteristics such as morphology. Here, we performed a population genomic scan on three Chorthippus species (Chorthippus biguttulus, C. mollis and C. brunneus) to gain insight into the genes and processes involved in divergence and speciation in this group. Using an RNA-seq approach, we examined functional variation between the species by calling SNPs for each of the three species pairs and using FST -based approaches to identify outliers. We found approximately 1% of SNPs in each comparison to be outliers. Between 37% and 40% of these outliers were nonsynonymous SNPs (as opposed to a global level of 17%) indicating that we recovered loci under selection. Among the outliers were several genes that may be involved in song production and hearing as well as genes involved in other traits such as food preferences and metabolism. Differences in food preferences between species were confirmed with a behavioural experiment. This indicates that multiple phenotypic differences implicating multiple evolutionary processes (sexual selection and natural selection) are present between the species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma L Berdan
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Camila J Mazzoni
- Berlin Center for Genomics in Biodiversity Research, Königin-Luise-Str 6-8, 14195, Berlin, Germany.,Leibniz-Institut für Zoo- und Wildtierforschung (IZW), Alfred-Kowalke-Straße 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany
| | - Isabelle Waurick
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Johannes T Roehr
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - Frieder Mayer
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions- und Biodiversitätsforschung, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Altensteinstraße 6, 14195, Berlin, Germany
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4
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Boyan G, Williams L, Liu Y. Conserved patterns of axogenesis in the panarthropod brain. ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2015; 44:101-112. [PMID: 25483803 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2014.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2014] [Revised: 10/11/2014] [Accepted: 11/24/2014] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Neuropils in the cerebral midline of Panarthropoda exhibit a wide spectrum of neuroarchitectures--from rudimentary to highly elaborated--and which at first sight defy a unifying neuroarchitectural principle. Developmental approaches have shown that in model arthropods such as insects, conserved cellular and molecular mechanisms first establish a simple axon scaffold in the brain. However, to be adapted for adult life, this immature ground plan is transformed by a developmental process--known in the grasshopper as "fascicle switching"--in which subsets of neurons systematically redirect their growth cones at stereotypic locations across the brain midline. A topographic system of choice points along the transverse brain axis where axons decussate features in all panarthropods studied even though different modes of neurogenesis and varying degrees of neuropilar elaboration are involved. This suggests that the molecular mechanisms regulating choice point selection may be conserved. In combination with recent cladistic interpretations of arthropod phylogeny based on nuclear protein-coding sequences the data argue for this topographic decussation as having evolved early and being a conserved feature of the Panarthropoda. Differences in elaboration likely reflect both the extent to which neuropilar reorganization has progressed during development and the lifestyle of the individual organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Boyan
- Developmental Neurobiology Group, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Grosshadernerstrasse 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany.
| | - Leslie Williams
- Developmental Neurobiology Group, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Grosshadernerstrasse 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Yu Liu
- Developmental Neurobiology Group, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Grosshadernerstrasse 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
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5
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Boyan G, Liu Y. Timelines in the insect brain: fates of identified neural stem cells generating the central complex in the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria. Dev Genes Evol 2013; 224:37-51. [PMID: 24343526 DOI: 10.1007/s00427-013-0462-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2013] [Accepted: 12/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Boyan
- Developmental Neurobiology Group, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Grosshadernerstrasse 2, 82152, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany,
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6
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Wirmer A, Bradler S, Heinrich R. Homology of insect corpora allata and vertebrate adenohypophysis? ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2012; 41:409-417. [PMID: 22595331 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2012.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2012] [Revised: 04/25/2012] [Accepted: 04/25/2012] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Animal species of various phyla possess neuroendocrine glands whose hormonal products regulate developmental and physiological mechanisms and directly impact behavior. Two examples, the corpora allata of insects and the vertebrate adenohypophysis have previously been regarded as analogous tissues that evolved independently from diffuse epidermal nerve nets of early metazoans. More recent developmental and functional studies accumulated evidence suggesting that the bilaterian nervous systems including its modern parts (e.g. pallium or cortex and mushroom bodies) and its neuroendocrine appendages (that are considered to be more ancient structures) possess a single evolutionary origin. The corpora allata of insects and the vertebrate adenohypophysis share a number of characteristics in respect of morphology, control of hormone release by RFamides, metabolites produced by closely related cytochrome P450 enzymes and gene expression during embryonic development. This review incorporates latest findings into an extensive description of similarities between insect corpora allata and vertebrate adenohypophysis that should encourage further studies about the onto- and phylogenetic origin of these neuroendocrine glands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Wirmer
- Institute for Neurobiology, University of Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
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7
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Heinrich R, Kunst M, Wirmer A. Reproduction-related sound production of grasshoppers regulated by internal state and actual sensory environment. Front Neurosci 2012; 6:89. [PMID: 22737107 PMCID: PMC3381836 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2012.00089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2012] [Accepted: 05/29/2012] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The interplay of neural and hormonal mechanisms activated by entero- and extero-receptors biases the selection of actions by decision making neuronal circuits. The reproductive behavior of acoustically communicating grasshoppers, which is regulated by short-term neural and longer-term hormonal mechanisms, has frequently been used to study the cellular and physiological processes that select particular actions from the species-specific repertoire of behaviors. Various grasshoppers communicate with species- and situation-specific songs in order to attract and court mating partners, to signal reproductive readiness, or to fend off competitors. Selection and coordination of type, intensity, and timing of sound signals is mediated by the central complex, a highly structured brain neuropil known to integrate multimodal pre-processed sensory information by a large number of chemical messengers. In addition, reproductive activity including sound production critically depends on maturation, previous mating experience, and oviposition cycles. In this regard, juvenile hormone released from the corpora allata has been identified as a decisive hormonal signal necessary to establish reproductive motivation in grasshopper females. Both regulatory systems, the central complex mediating short-term regulation and the corpora allata mediating longer-term regulation of reproduction-related sound production mutually influence each other’s activity in order to generate a coherent state of excitation that promotes or suppresses reproductive behavior in respective appropriate or inappropriate situations. This review summarizes our current knowledge about extrinsic and intrinsic factors that influence grasshopper reproductive motivation, their representation in the nervous system and their integrative processing that mediates the initiation or suppression of reproductive behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralf Heinrich
- Department of Cellular Neurobiology, Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen Göttingen, Germany
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8
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Distribution of metabotropic receptors of serotonin, dopamine, GABA, glutamate, and short neuropeptide F in the central complex of Drosophila. Neuroscience 2012; 208:11-26. [PMID: 22361394 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2012.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2011] [Revised: 01/19/2012] [Accepted: 02/07/2012] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
The central complex is a prominent set of midline neuropils in the insect brain, known to be a higher locomotor control center that integrates visual inputs and modulates motor outputs. It is composed of four major neuropil structures, the ellipsoid body (EB), fan-shaped body (FB), noduli (NO), and protocerebral bridge (PB). In Drosophila different types of central complex neurons have been shown to express multiple neuropeptides and neurotransmitters; however, the distribution of corresponding receptors is not known. Here, we have mapped metabotropic, G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) of several neurotransmitters to neurons of the central complex. By combining immunocytochemistry with GAL4 driven green fluorescent protein, we examined the distribution patterns of six different GPCRs: two serotonin receptor subtypes (5-HT(1B) and 5-HT(7)), a dopamine receptor (DopR), the metabotropic GABA(B) receptor (GABA(B)R), the metabotropic glutamate receptor (DmGluR(A)) and a short neuropeptide F receptor (sNPFR1). Five of the six GPCRs were mapped to different neurons in the EB (sNPFR1 was not seen). Different layers of the FB express DopR, GABA(B)R, DmGluR(A,) and sNPFR1, whereas only GABA(B)R and DmGluR(A) were localized to the PB. Finally, strong expression of DopR and DmGluR(A) was detected in the NO. In most cases the distribution patterns of the GPCRs matched the expression of markers for their respective ligands. In some nonmatching regions it is likely that other types of dopamine and serotonin receptors or ionotropic GABA and glutamate receptors are expressed. Our data suggest that chemical signaling and signal modulation are diverse and highly complex in the different compartments and circuits of the Drosophila central complex. The information provided here, on receptor distribution, will be very useful for future analysis of functional circuits in the central complex, based on targeted interference with receptor expression.
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Neurochemical architecture of the central complex related to its function in the control of grasshopper acoustic communication. PLoS One 2011; 6:e25613. [PMID: 21980504 PMCID: PMC3182233 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0025613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2011] [Accepted: 09/07/2011] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The central complex selects and coordinates the species- and situation-specific song production in acoustically communicating grasshoppers. Control of sound production is mediated by several neurotransmitters and modulators, their receptors and intracellular signaling pathways. It has previously been shown that muscarinic cholinergic excitation in the central complex promotes sound production whereas both GABA and nitric oxide/cyclic GMP signaling suppress its performance. The present immunocytochemical and pharmacological study investigates the question whether GABA and nitric oxide mediate inhibition of sound production independently. Muscarinic ACh receptors are expressed by columnar output neurons of the central complex that innervate the lower division of the central body and terminate in the lateral accessory lobes. GABAergic tangential neurons that innervate the lower division of the central body arborize in close proximity of columnar neurons and thus may directly inhibit these central complex output neurons. A subset of these GABAergic tangential neurons accumulates cyclic GMP following the release of nitric oxide from neurites in the upper division of the central body. While sound production stimulated by muscarine injection into the central complex is suppressed by co-application of sodium nitroprusside, picrotoxin-stimulated singing was not affected by co-application of this nitric oxide donor, indicating that nitric oxide mediated inhibition requires functional GABA signaling. Hence, grasshopper sound production is controlled by processing of information in the lower division of the central body which is subject to modulation by nitric oxide released from neurons in the upper division.
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Boyan G, Williams L. Embryonic development of the insect central complex: insights from lineages in the grasshopper and Drosophila. ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2011; 40:334-348. [PMID: 21382507 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2011.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2010] [Revised: 02/16/2011] [Accepted: 02/27/2011] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- George Boyan
- Developmental Neurobiology Group, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Grosshadernerstr. 2, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
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11
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Herbert Z, Rauser S, Williams L, Kapan N, Güntner M, Walch A, Boyan G. Developmental expression of neuromodulators in the central complex of the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria. J Morphol 2011; 271:1509-26. [PMID: 20960464 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
The central complex is a major integrative region within the insect brain with demonstrated roles in spatial orientation, the regulation of locomotor behavior, and sound production. In the hemimetabolous grasshopper, the central complex comprises the protocerebral bridge, central body (CB), ellipsoid body, noduli, and accessory lobes, and this modular organization develops entirely during embryogenesis. From a biochemical perspective, a range of neuroactive substances has been demonstrated in these modules of the adult central complex, but little is known about their developmental expression. In this study, we use matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-imaging mass spectrometry on single brain slices to confirm the presence of several peptide families (tachykinin, allatostatin, periviscerokinin/pyrokinin, FLRFamide, and neuropeptide F) in the adult central complex and then use immunohistochemistry and histology to examine their developmental expression, together with that of the indolamin serotonin, and the endogenous messenger nitric oxide (NO; via its synthesizing enzyme). We find that each neuromodulator is expressed according to a unique, stereotypic, pattern within the various modules making up the central complex. Neuropeptides such as tachykinin (55%) and allatostatin (65%), and the NO-synthesizing enzyme diaphorase (70%), are expressed earlier during embryonic development than the biogenic amine serotonin (80%), whereas periviscerokinin-like peptides and FLRFamide-like peptides begin to be expressed only postembryonically. Within the CB, these neuroactive substances are present in tangential projection neurons before they appear in columnar neurons. There is also no colocalization of serotonin-positive and peptide-positive projections up to the third larval instar during development, consistent with the clear dorsoventral layering of the neuropil we observe. Our results provide the first neurochemical fingerprint of the developing central complex in an hemimetabolous insect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zsofia Herbert
- Developmental Neurobiology Group, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, 82152 Martinsried, Germany
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12
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Boyan GS, Reichert H. Mechanisms for complexity in the brain: generating the insect central complex. Trends Neurosci 2011; 34:247-57. [PMID: 21397959 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2011.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2010] [Revised: 02/04/2011] [Accepted: 02/04/2011] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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13
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Wirmer A, Heinrich R. Nitric oxide/cGMP signaling in the corpora allata of female grasshoppers. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2011; 57:94-107. [PMID: 20932971 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2010.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2010] [Revised: 09/27/2010] [Accepted: 09/29/2010] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
The corpora allata (CA) of various insects express enzymes with fixation resistant NADPHdiaphorase activity. In female grasshoppers, juvenile hormone (JH) released from the CA is necessary to establish reproductive readiness, including sound production. Previous studies demonstrated that female sound production is also promoted by systemic inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) formation. In addition, allatotropin and allatostatin expressing central brain neurons were located in close vicinity of NO generating cells. It was therefore speculated that NO signaling may contribute to the control of juvenile hormone release from the CA. This study demonstrates the presence of NO/cGMP signaling in the CA of female Chorthippus biguttulus. CA parenchymal cells exhibit NADPHdiaphorase activity, express anti NOS immunoreactivity and accumulate citrulline, which is generated as a byproduct of NO generation. Varicose terminals from brain neurons in the dorsal pars intercerebralis and pars lateralis that accumulate cGMP upon stimulation with NO donors serve as intrinsic targets of NO in the CA. Both accumulation of citrulline and cyclic GMP were inhibited by the NOS inhibitor aminoguanidine, suggesting that NO in CA is produced by NOS. These results suggest that NO is a retrograde transmitter that provides feedback to projection neurons controlling JH production. Combined immunostainings and backfill experiments detected CA cells with processes extending into the CC and the protocerebrum that expressed immunoreactivity against the pan-neural marker anti-HRP. Allatostatin and allatotropin immunopositive brain neurons do not express NOS but subpopulations accumulate cGMP upon NO-formation. Direct innervation of CA by these peptidergic neurons was not observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Wirmer
- Institute for Zoology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
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14
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Harley CM, Ritzmann RE. Electrolytic lesions within central complex neuropils of the cockroach brain affect negotiation of barriers. J Exp Biol 2010; 213:2851-64. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.042499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
SUMMARY
Animals must negotiate obstacles in their path in order to successfully function within natural environments. These actions require transitions from walking to other behaviors, many of which are more involved than simple reflexes. For these behaviors to be successful, insects must evaluate objects in their path and then use that information to change posture or re-direct leg movements. Some of this control may occur within a region of the brain known as the central complex (CC). We used discrete electrolytic lesions to examine the role of certain sub-regions of the CC in various obstacle negotiation behaviors. We found that cockroaches with lesions to the protocerebral bridge (PB) and ellipsoid body (EB) exhibit abnormalities in turning and dealing with shelf-like objects; whereas, individuals with lesions to the fan-shaped body (FB) and lateral accessory lobe (LAL), exhibit abnormalities of those behaviors as well as climbing over blocks and up walls to a horizontal plane. Abnormalities in block climbing include decreased success rate, changes in climbing strategy, and delayed response to the block. Increases in these abnormal behaviors were significant in individuals with lesions to the FB and LAL. Although turning abnormalities are present in individuals with lesions to the LAL, EB and the lateral region of the FB, there are some differences in how these deficits present. For instance, the turning deficits seen in individuals with lateral FB lesions only occurred when turning in the direction opposite to the side of the brain on which the lesion occurred. By contrast, individuals with lesions to the EB and LAL exhibited turning abnormalities in both directions. Lesions in the medial region of the FB did not result in directional turning deficits, but in abnormalities in block climbing.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. M. Harley
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106-7080, USA
| | - R. E. Ritzmann
- Department of Biology, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106-7080, USA
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Wirmer A, Faustmann M, Heinrich R. Reproductive behaviour of female Chorthippus biguttulus grasshoppers. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2010; 56:745-753. [PMID: 20116380 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2010.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2009] [Revised: 01/18/2010] [Accepted: 01/19/2010] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Female grasshoppers of acoustically communicating species assume series of reproductive states that are associated with particular behaviours. Studies on laboratory populations of Chorthippus biguttulus (L.) revealed that females of this species lack the period of 'passive copulatory readiness', increase their attractiveness to males by sound production and mate multiple times before their first oviposition. In particular, female Ch. biguttulus display a period of 'primary rejection' after their imaginal moult during which they reject male mating attempts followed by a period of 'active copulatory readiness' in which they produce acoustic signals and may copulate with courting males. Female stridulation generally stimulated male mating activity and stridulating females attracted more male mating attempts than mute females in the same cage, indicating that males preferentially court females that signal 'active copulatory readiness'. After receipt of a spermatophore, Ch. biguttulus females displayed periods of 'secondary rejection' followed by re-establishment of 'active copulatory readiness'. Acoustic responses of females to male songs, an indicator of reproductive readiness, were significantly reduced until 2 days after mating and remained slightly reduced in comparison to pre-mating levels. Some females mated multiple times before their first oviposition and cycled between 'secondary rejection' and 'active copulatory readiness'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Wirmer
- Institute for Zoology, University of Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany
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Multipotent neuroblasts generate a biochemical neuroarchitecture in the central complex of the grasshopper Schistocerca gregaria. Cell Tissue Res 2010; 340:13-28. [DOI: 10.1007/s00441-009-0922-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2009] [Accepted: 12/17/2009] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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Siegl T, Schachtner J, Holstein GR, Homberg U. NO/cGMP signalling: L: -citrulline and cGMP immunostaining in the central complex of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria. Cell Tissue Res 2009; 337:327-40. [PMID: 19506907 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-009-0820-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2009] [Accepted: 05/07/2009] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous messenger molecule formed during conversion of L: -arginine into L: -citrulline by the enzyme NO synthase (NOS), which belongs to a group of NADPH diaphorases. Because of its gaseous diffusion properties, NO differs from classical neurotransmitters in that it is not restricted to synaptic terminals. In target cells, NO activates soluble guanylyl cyclase leading to an increase in cGMP levels. In insects, this NO/cGMP-signalling pathway is involved in development, memory formation and processing of visual, olfactory and mechanosensory information. We have analysed the distribution of putative NO donor and target cells in the central complex, a brain area involved in sky-compass orientation, of the locust Schistocerca gregaria by immunostaining for L: -citrulline and cGMP. Six types of citrulline-immunostained neurons have been identified including a bilateral pair of hitherto undescribed neurons that connect the lateral accessory lobes with areas anterior to the medial lobes of the mushroom bodies. Three-dimensional reconstructions have revealed the connectivity pattern of a set of 18 immunostained pontine neurons of the central body. All these neurons appear to be a subset of previously mapped NADPH-diaphorase-positive neurons of the central complex. At least three types of central-complex neurons show cGMP immunostaining including a system of novel columnar neurons connecting the upper division of the central body and the lateral triangle of the lateral accessory lobe. Our results provide the morphological basis for further studies of the function of the labelled neurons and new insights into NO/cGMP signalling.
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