The effect of age, sex and anatomical position on peripheral responses of taste receptors in blowflies, genus Phormia and Protophormia

The chemosensitivity of labellar sugar receptor in female Phormia regina is paralleled with ovary maturation: Effects of serotonin

Oogenesis in most adult insects is a nutrient-dependent process involving ingestion of both proteins and carbohydrates that ultimately depends on peripheral input from chemoreceptors. The main goal of this study was to characterize, in the female blowfly Phormia regina, the responsive changes of the labellar chemoreceptors to carbohydrates and proteins in relation to four different stages along the ovarian cycle: (1) immature ovaries, (2) mid-mature ovaries, (3) mature ovaries and ready for egg-laying and (4) post egg-laying ovaries. Then, the possible effects exerted by exogenous serotonin on the chemoreceptor sensitivity profiles were investigated. Our results show that ovary length, width and contraction rate progressively increase from stage 1 to 3, when all these parameters reach their maximum values, before declining in the next stage 4. The sensitivity of the labellar "sugar" chemoreceptors to both sucrose and proteins varies during the ovarian maturation stages, reaching a minimum for sucrose in stage 3, while that to proteins begins. Exogenous 5-HT supply specifically increases the chemoreceptor sensitivity to sugar at the stages 3 and 4, while it does not affect that to proteins. In conclusion, our results provide evidence that in female blowflies the cyclic variations in the sensitivity of the labellar chemosensilla to sugars and proteins are time-related to ovarian development and that during the stages 3 and 4 the responsiveness of the sugar cell to sucrose is under serotonergic control.

Clonidine effects on protein and carbohydrate electrophysiological responses of labellar and tarsal sensilla in Phormia regina

The electrophysiological response of labellar and tarsal chemosensilla in the blowfly Phormia regina was studied in response to a complex stimulus naturally encountered by flies such as sheep faeces, and to beef liver, a proteinaceous feeding source. Responses were investigated both before or after injection of clonidine, an octopamine agonist previously shown to enhance sucrose ingestion, while decreasing that of proteins. As assessed by single sensillum recordings, the four different chemosensory - "salt", "sugar", "deterrent" and "water" - cells were all activated by both stimuli, regardless of sex and sensillum type, the "sugar" one being in all cases the most sensitive to beef liver before clonidine injection. Clonidine treatment affected neither labellar nor tarsal sensitivity to sucrose. Conversely, clonidine-injected flies showed a significant increase in the activity of the "deterrent" cell to beef liver, thus accounting for a decrease in protein ingestion. This study for the first time provides evidence of a key role of a clonidine-sensitive peripheral taste sensitivity in down-regulation of protein ingestion in blowflies. Correlation between peripheral sensitivity and behavioural output is discussed.

The regulation of feeding: locusts and blowflies are not so different from mammals

The regulation of feeding in two insect groups, the locusts and the blowflies, is reviewed. The patterning of feeding is discussed first, and then the underlying mechanisms are considered in detail. The concept of "central excitability" is the key to understanding the controls of feeding. It represents a central nervous mechanism for tuning the sensitivity of the insect to food-related stimuli. The level of central excitation is influenced positively by food and also non-food stimuli, both from within and outside the animal, and negatively by deterrent stimuli and by feedbacks from peripheral systems such as stretch receptors on the gut wall, hormones and blood composition. Sustained gustatory input is required if feeding is to continue, once initiated. The level of central excitation present as a meal begins influences ingestion rate and the amounts of negative feedback tolerated before feeding stops. The duration of intervals between meals is then a function of a number of excitatory stimuli and of feeding-induced changes which reduce the likelihood of further feeding, e.g., hormone release, changes in nutrient composition or osmotic pressure of the blood, and gut distension. Other areas reviewed include changes in the regulation of feeding during the life history and the control of drinking.

Effects of abrasion and Na+ on dactyl-mediated chemoreception in mature kelp crabs, Pugettia producta (Randall)

Extracellular recordings from the mixed sensory nerves innervating the abraded dactylopodites of the kelp crab, Pugettia producta (Randall), indicate that at least some chemoreceptors and mechanoreceptors remain functional. The chemoreceptors of the abraded dactyls are sensitive to both the concentration and chemical nature of the stimulants. The responses of the chemoreceptors, but not of the mechanoreceptors, are reduced when choline is substituted for sodium in the stimulant solutions. Only chemoreception is blocked by the topical application of tetrodotoxin (TTX) to the dactyls; partial reversal of the blockage occurs with time. The differential blockage of receptor activity by low Na+ and TTX is consistent with the idea that spike initiation occurs more distally in the dendrites of the chemosensory neurons than in the mechanosensory neurons. The relevance of this to the ability of at least some abraded dactyl setae to remain functional in a long-lived, nonmolting crab is considered.