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Neuroendocrinal and molecular basis of flight performance in locusts

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Abstract

Insect flight is a complex physiological process that involves sensory and neuroendocrinal control, efficient energy metabolism, rhythmic muscle contraction, and coordinated wing movement. As a classical study model for insect flight, locusts have attracted much attention from physiologists, behaviorists, and neuroendocrinologists over the past decades. In earlier research, scientists made extensive efforts to explore the hormone regulation of metabolism related to locust flight; however, this work was hindered by the absence of molecular and genetic tools. Recently, the rapid development of molecular and genetic tools as well as multi-omics has greatly advanced our understanding of the metabolic, molecular, and neuroendocrinal basis of long-term flight in locusts. Novel neural and molecular factors modulating locust flight and their regulatory mechanisms have been explored. Moreover, the molecular mechanisms underlying phase-dependent differences in locust flight have also been revealed. Here, we provide a systematic review of locust flight physiology, with emphasis on recent advances in the neuroendocrinal, genetic, and molecular basis. Future research directions and potential challenges are also addressed.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. Le Kang for helpful suggestions on the writing of this review. Figures were produced using Adobe Illustrator.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant NO. 31930012, 32070497, 32100388) and Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDPB16) and Youth Innovation Promotion Association CAS (No. 2021079).

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  1. Li Hou, Siyuan Guo have contributed equally to this paper.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Li Hou, Siyuan Guo, Ding Ding & Xianhui Wang

  2. CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Li Hou & Xianhui Wang

  3. Beijing Institutes of Life Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Baozhen Du

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LH and SYG wrote the manuscript and drew the figures, DD and BZD revised the manuscript, XHW revised and finalized the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xianhui Wang.

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Hou, L., Guo, S., Ding, D. et al. Neuroendocrinal and molecular basis of flight performance in locusts. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 79, 325 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-022-04344-9

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