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Strauß J, Stritih-Peljhan N, Nishino H. Vibration receptor organs in the insect leg: neuroanatomical diversity and functional principles. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2024; 61:101153. [PMID: 38128778 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2023.101153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Revised: 11/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
Detecting substrate vibrations is essential for insects in different behavioural contexts. These vibrational behaviours are mediated by mechanoreceptor organs detecting and processing vibrational stimuli transmitted in the environment. We discuss recently gained insights about the functional principles of insect vibration receptors, mainly leg chordotonal organs highly sensitive to vibrational stimuli, and the mechanisms of their diversification in neuroanatomy and functional morphology, in relation to the attachment structures and mechanical coupling. The two main input pathways for vibration stimuli transferred by the insect legs to vibrosensory organs via the cuticle and via the hemolymph are fundamental for explaining sensory specialisations. The vibroreceptor organs can diversify in their neuroanatomy and morphology in several key aspects. This provides the structural basis for complex adaptations in sensory evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Strauß
- Institute for Animal Physiology, AG Integrative Sensory Physiology, Justus Liebig University Gießen, Gießen, Germany; Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior (CMBB), University of Marburg and Justus Liebig University Gießen, Germany.
| | - Nataša Stritih-Peljhan
- National Institute of Biology, Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Hiroshi Nishino
- Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
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Prusty AD, Sane SP. The motor apparatus of head movements in the Oleander hawkmoth (Daphnis nerii, Lepidoptera). J Comp Neurol 2024; 532:e25577. [PMID: 38289189 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
Head movements of insects play a vital role in diverse locomotory behaviors including flying and walking. Because insect eyes move minimally within their sockets, their head movements are essential to reduce visual blur and maintain a stable gaze. As in most vertebrates, gaze stabilization behavior in insects requires the integration of both visual and mechanosensory feedback by the neck motor neurons. Although visual feedback is derived from the optic flow over the retina of their compound eyes, mechanosensory feedback is derived from their organs of balance, similar to the vestibular system in vertebrates. In Diptera, vestibular feedback is derived from the halteres-modified hindwings that evolved into mechanosensory organs-and is integrated with visual feedback to actuate compensatory head movements. However, non-Dipteran insects, including Lepidoptera, lack halteres. In these insects, vestibular feedback is obtained from the antennal Johnston's organs but it is not well-understood how it integrates with visual feedback during head movements. Indeed, although head movements are well-studied in flies, the underlying motor apparatus in non-Dipteran taxa has received relatively less attention. As a first step toward understanding compensatory head movements in the Oleander hawkmoth Daphnis nerii, we image the anatomy and architecture of their neck joint sclerites and muscles using X-ray microtomography, and the associated motor neurons using fluorescent dye fills and confocal microscopy. Based on these morphological data, we propose testable hypotheses about the putative function of specific neck muscles during head movements, which can shed light on their role in neck movements and gaze stabilization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnish D Prusty
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India
| | - Sanjay P Sane
- National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India
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Virant-Doberlet M, Stritih-Peljhan N, Žunič-Kosi A, Polajnar J. Functional Diversity of Vibrational Signaling Systems in Insects. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2023; 68:191-210. [PMID: 36198397 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-120220-095459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Communication by substrate-borne mechanical waves is widespread in insects. The specifics of vibrational communication are related to heterogeneous natural substrates that strongly influence signal transmission. Insects generate vibrational signals primarily by tremulation, drumming, stridulation, and tymbalation, most commonly during sexual behavior but also in agonistic, social, and mutualistic as well as defense interactions and as part of foraging strategies. Vibrational signals are often part of multimodal communication. Sensilla and organs detecting substrate vibration show great diversity and primarily occur in insect legs to optimize sensitivity and directionality. In the natural environment, signals from heterospecifics, as well as social and enemy interactions within vibrational communication networks, influence signaling and behavioral strategies. The exploitation of substrate-borne vibrational signaling offers a promising application for behavioral manipulation in pest control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meta Virant-Doberlet
- Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
| | - Nataša Stritih-Peljhan
- Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
| | - Alenka Žunič-Kosi
- Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
| | - Jernej Polajnar
- Department of Organisms and Ecosystems Research, National Institute of Biology, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
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Tron N, Stölting H, Kampschulte M, Martels G, Stumpner A, Lakes-Harlan R. The Auditory System of the Dipteran Parasitoid Emblemasoma auditrix (Sarcophagidae). JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE (ONLINE) 2016; 16:90. [PMID: 27538415 PMCID: PMC4989904 DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iew062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2016] [Accepted: 06/23/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Several taxa of insects evolved a tympanate ear at different body positions, whereby the ear is composed of common parts: a scolopidial sense organ, a tracheal air space, and a tympanal membrane. Here, we analyzed the anatomy and physiology of the ear at the ventral prothorax of the sarcophagid fly, Emblemasoma auditrix (Soper). We used micro-computed tomography to analyze the ear and its tracheal air space in relation to the body morphology. Both tympana are separated by a small cuticular bridge, face in the same frontal direction, and are backed by a single tracheal enlargement. This enlargement is connected to the anterior spiracles at the dorsofrontal thorax and is continuous with the tracheal network in the thorax and in the abdomen. Analyses of responses of auditory afferents and interneurons show that the ear is broadly tuned, with a sensitivity peak at 5 kHz. Single-cell recordings of auditory interneurons indicate a frequency- and intensity-dependent tuning, whereby some neurons react best to 9 kHz, the peak frequency of the host's calling song. The results are compared to the convergently evolved ear in Tachinidae (Diptera).
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanina Tron
- Ag Integrative Sensory Physiology, Institute of Animal Physiology, Justus-Liebig-University, Heinrich-Buff Ring 26, Gießen 35392, Germany (; )
| | - Heiko Stölting
- Cellular Neurobiology, Georg-August University, Schwann-Schleiden-Forschungszentrum, Julia-Lermontowa-Weg 3, Göttingen 37077, Germany (, )
| | - Marian Kampschulte
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Gießen, Klinkstraße 33, Gießen 35392, Germany (; )
| | - Gunhild Martels
- Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Gießen, Klinkstraße 33, Gießen 35392, Germany (; )
| | - Andreas Stumpner
- Cellular Neurobiology, Georg-August University, Schwann-Schleiden-Forschungszentrum, Julia-Lermontowa-Weg 3, Göttingen 37077, Germany (, )
| | - Reinhard Lakes-Harlan
- Ag Integrative Sensory Physiology, Institute of Animal Physiology, Justus-Liebig-University, Heinrich-Buff Ring 26, Gießen 35392, Germany (; )
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Selective forces on origin, adaptation and reduction of tympanal ears in insects. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2014; 201:155-69. [DOI: 10.1007/s00359-014-0962-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2014] [Revised: 10/28/2014] [Accepted: 10/31/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Lakes-Harlan R, Lehmann GUC. Parasitoid flies exploiting acoustic communication of insects-comparative aspects of independent functional adaptations. J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol 2014; 201:123-32. [PMID: 25369901 DOI: 10.1007/s00359-014-0958-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2014] [Revised: 10/20/2014] [Accepted: 10/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Two taxa of parasitoid Diptera have independently evolved tympanal hearing organs to locate sound producing host insects. Here we review and compare functional adaptations in both groups of parasitoids, Ormiini and Emblemasomatini. Tympanal organs in both groups originate from a common precursor organ and are somewhat similar in morphology and physiology. In terms of functional adaptations, the hearing thresholds are largely adapted to the frequency spectra of the calling song of the hosts. The large host ranges of some parasitoids indicate that their neuronal filter for the temporal patterns of the calling songs are broader than those found in intraspecific communication. For host localization the night active Ormia ochracea and the day active E. auditrix are able to locate a sound source precisely in space. For phonotaxis flight and walking phases are used, whereby O. ochracea approaches hosts during flight while E. auditrix employs intermediate landings and re-orientation, apparently separating azimuthal and vertical angles. The consequences of the parasitoid pressure are discussed for signal evolution and intraspecific communication of the host species. This natural selection pressure might have led to different avoidance strategies in the hosts: silent males in crickets, shorter signals in tettigoniids and fluctuating population abundances in cicadas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reinhard Lakes-Harlan
- Institute for Animal Physiology, AG Integrative Sensory Physiology, Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen, IFZ, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26, 35392, Giessen, Germany,
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Auditory Parasitoid Flies Exploiting Acoustic Communication of Insects. ANIMAL SIGNALS AND COMMUNICATION 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-40462-7_4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
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Quantitative trait locus mapping of gravitaxis behaviour in Drosophila melanogaster. Genet Res (Camb) 2010; 92:167-74. [PMID: 20667161 DOI: 10.1017/s0016672310000194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster, like other organisms, move and orient themselves in response to the earth's gravitational force. The ability to sense and respond to gravity is essential for an organism to navigate and thrive in its environment. The genes underlying this behaviour in Drosophila remain elusive. Using 88 recombinant inbred lines, we have identified four quantitative trait loci (QTLs) that contribute to adult gravitaxis (geotaxis) behaviour in Drosophila. Candidate genes of interest were selected from the QTLs of highest significance based on their function in chordotonal organ formation. Quantitative complementation tests with these candidate genes revealed a role for skittles in adult gravitaxis behaviour in D. melanogaster.
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Tuck EJ, Windmill JFC, Robert D. Hearing in tsetse flies? Morphology and mechanics of a putative auditory organ. BULLETIN OF ENTOMOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2009; 99:107-119. [PMID: 18954491 DOI: 10.1017/s0007485308006160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
Tympanal hearing organs are widely used by insects to detect sound pressure. Such ears are relatively uncommon in the order Diptera, having only been reported in two families thus far. This study describes the general anatomical organization and experimentally examines the mechanical resonant properties of an unusual membranous structure situated on the ventral prothorax of the tsetse fly, Glossina morsitans (Diptera: Glossinidae). Anatomically, the prosternal membrane is backed by an air filled chamber and attaches to a pair of sensory chordotonal organs. Mechanically, the membrane shows a broad resonance around 5.3-7.2 kHz. Unlike previously reported dipteran tympana, a directional response to sound was not found in G. morsitans. Collectively, the morphology, the resonant properties and acoustic sensitivity of the tsetse prothorax are consistent with those of the tympanal hearing organs in Ormia sp. and Emblemasoma sp. (Tachinidae and Sarcophagidae). The production of sound by several species of tsetse flies has been repeatedly documented. Yet, clear behavioural evidence for acoustic behaviour is sparse and inconclusive. Together with sound production, the presence of an ear-like structure raises the enticing possibility of auditory communication in tsetse flies and renews interest in the sensory biology of these medically important insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- E J Tuck
- School of Biological Sciences, Woodland Road, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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