Myosuppressin is involved in the regulation of pupal diapause in the cabbage army moth Mamestra brassicae

Starvation-Induced Changes to the Midgut Proteome and Neuropeptides in Manduca sexta

Starvation is a complex physiological state that induces changes in protein expression to ensure survival. The insect midgut is sensitive to changes in dietary content as it is at the forefront of communicating information about incoming nutrients to the body via hormones. Therefore, a DIA proteomics approach was used to examine starvation physiology and, specifically, the role of midgut neuropeptide hormones in a representative lepidopteran, Manduca sexta. Proteomes were generated from midguts of M. sexta fourth-instar caterpillars, starved for 24 h and 48 h, and compared to fed controls. A total of 3047 proteins were identified, and 854 of these were significantly different in abundance. KEGG analysis revealed that metabolism pathways were less abundant in starved caterpillars, but oxidative phosphorylation proteins were more abundant. In addition, six neuropeptides or related signaling cascade proteins were detected. Particularly, neuropeptide F1 (NPF1) was significantly higher in abundance in starved larvae. A change in juvenile hormone-degrading enzymes was also detected during starvation. Overall, our results provide an exploration of the midgut response to starvation in M. sexta and validate DIA proteomics as a useful tool for quantifying insect midgut neuropeptide hormones.

Comparative insights into the integration mechanism of neuropeptides to starvation and temperature stress

Stress is known as the process of biological responses evoked by internal or external stimuli. The ability to sense, integrate and respond to stress signals is a requisite for life. Temperature and photoperiod are very important environmental factors for animals. In addition, stress signals can also be inputted from peripheral tissue, such as starvation and inflammation. Through afferent pathways, stress signals input to the central nervous system (CNS), where various signals will integrate, and the integrated information will transmit to the peripheral effectors. As the regulators of neural activity, neuropeptides play important roles in these processes. The present review summarizes recent findings about the integration mechanism of stress signals in the CNS, emphasizing on the role of neuropeptides.

Myosuppressin influences fecundity in the Colorado potato beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata

Insect neuropeptides regulate various physiological processes, such as reproduction, feeding, growth and development, and have been considered as viable targets in the development of alternative strategies for pest control. Amongst these neuropeptides is myosuppressin (MS), a very conserved neuropeptide that has been reported to regulate cardiac and skeletal muscle contractility, feeding and pupal diapause in insects. In this study, we investigated the involvement of MS in fecundity in a notorious defoliator of potato and other solanaceous plants, the Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata. We identified an MS-precursor-encoding transcript in the L. decemlineata transcriptomic database and then evaluated its transcript levels in various CPB tissues. MS transcript levels were found to be highest in the central nervous system, gut and muscle of CPB males and females. To investigate the role of MS in fecundity, MS was silenced in adult CPBs through RNA interference (RNAi). This resulted in a significant reduction in oviposition (over 80%) and oocyte size (69%) in the treated beetles compared to the controls. Also, the reduction in oviposition in treated females was confirmed to be dependent on MS knockdown and independent of male fertilization. Furthermore, MS-knockdown in females resulted in decreased levels of ecdysteroid hormone titers and the transcript levels of its receptor. Interestingly, the injection of 20-hydroxyecdysone into females following MS knockdown could rescue ovary development. Altogether, this study highlights the important role played by MS in regulating fecundity in CPB.

Hormonal axes in Drosophila: regulation of hormone release and multiplicity of actions

Hormones regulate development, as well as many vital processes in the daily life of an animal. Many of these hormones are peptides that act at a higher hierarchical level in the animal with roles as organizers that globally orchestrate metabolism, physiology and behavior. Peptide hormones can act on multiple peripheral targets and simultaneously convey basal states, such as metabolic status and sleep-awake or arousal across many central neuronal circuits. Thereby, they coordinate responses to changing internal and external environments. The activity of neurosecretory cells is controlled either by (1) cell autonomous sensors, or (2) by other neurons that relay signals from sensors in peripheral tissues and (3) by feedback from target cells. Thus, a hormonal signaling axis commonly comprises several components. In mammals and other vertebrates, several hormonal axes are known, such as the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonad axis or the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis that regulate reproduction and metabolism, respectively. It has been proposed that the basic organization of such hormonal axes is evolutionarily old and that cellular homologs of the hypothalamic-pituitary system can be found for instance in insects. To obtain an appreciation of the similarities between insect and vertebrate neurosecretory axes, we review the organization of neurosecretory cell systems in Drosophila. Our review outlines the major peptidergic hormonal pathways known in Drosophila and presents a set of schemes of hormonal axes and orchestrating peptidergic systems. The detailed organization of the larval and adult Drosophila neurosecretory systems displays only very basic similarities to those in other arthropods and vertebrates.

Functional identification of an FMRFamide-related peptide gene on diapause induction of the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria L

FMRFamide-related peptides (FaRPs) are a type of neuropeptide, which participate in a variety of physiological processes in insects. Previous study showed that myosuppressin, being a member of FaRPs, initiated pupal diapause in Mamestra brassicae. We presumed that FaRPs genes might play a critical role in photoperiodic diapause induction of L. migratoria. To verify our hypothesis, flrf, a precursor gene of FaRP from L. migratoria, was initially cloned under long and short photoperiods that encoded by flrf gene identified from central nervous system (CNS). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the protein encoded by L. migratoria flrf gene, clustered together with Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) with 100% bootstrap support, was basically an FMRFamide precursor homologue. We noticed the availability of -RFamide peptides (GSERNFLRFa, DRNFIRFa) under short photoperiod only, which suggested their functions related to photoperiodic diapause induction. RNAi and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) results further confirmed that the flrf gene promoted locust's diapause.

RNAi mediated myosuppressin deficiency affects muscle development and survival in the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis)

Muscle activity is regulated by stimulatory and inhibitory neuropeptides allowing for contraction and relaxation. In Arthropods, one of the important myoinhibitors is Myosuppressin, belonging to FMRFamide-like peptides, that was shown to have inhibitory effects on visceral muscle contraction and to regulate vital physiological processes including reproduction or feeding. We have identified myosuppressin in salmon louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis (LsalMS) and systematically characterised its function and complex abnormalities emerging after LsalMS knockdown by RNAi in all developmental stages in this species. Immunohistochemistry analysis localized the LsalMS mainly to the central nervous system, but also to the vital organs within the alimentary tract and the reproductive system. The most striking feature of LsalMS deficiency during lice development was severe reduction of the muscle content, with abnormalities detected in both the visceral and skeletal muscles. Moreover, down-regulation of LsalMS affects moulting, spermatophore deposition and feeding by affecting development of the intestinal wall and increasing its contraction frequency.

Effects of transgenic overexpression of diapause hormone and diapause hormone receptor genes on non-diapause silkworm

Diapause is a state of developmental arrest that is most often observed in arthropods, especially insects. The domesticated silkworm, Bombyx mori, is a typical insect that enters diapause at an early embryonic stage. Previous studies have revealed that the diapause hormone (DH) signaling molecules, especially the core members DH and DH receptor 1 (DHR1), are crucial for the determination of embryonic diapause in diapause silkworm strains. However, whether they function in non-diapause silkworm strains remains largely unknown. Here, we generated two transgenic lines overexpressing DH or DHR1 genes in a non-diapause silkworm strain, Nistari. Our results showed that developmental expression patterns of DH and DHR1 are quite similar in transgenic silkworms: both genes are highly expressed in the mid to late stages of pupae and are most highly expressed in day-6 pupae but are expressed at very low levels in other developmental stages. Moreover, the overexpression of DH or DHR1 can affect the expression of diapause-related genes but is not sufficient to induce embryonic diapause in their offspring. This study provides new insights into the function of DH and DHR1 in a non-diapause silkworm strain.