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Antibodies against the PER protein of Drosophila label neurons in the optic lobe, central brain, and thoracic ganglia of the crickets Teleogryllus commodus and Teleogryllus oceanicus

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Abstract

We describe labeling of neurons in the central nervous system of two cricket species, Teleogryllus commodus and T. oceanicus, with both mono- and polyclonal antibodies against the PER protein. Western blots reveal that the monoclonal antibodies recognize a single protein with a molecular weight of approximately 94 kDa, i.e., similar to that of the PER protein of the moth, Anterea pernii. Neurons and their processes are labeled both in the optic lobes and in the central brain. Processes occur in the accessory medulla, the medulla, and proximal lamina, in the central complex, in the non-glomerular neuropil, and in the retrocerebral complex, suggesting that PER-containing neurons form a widely distributed network. Neurons and processes were also labeled in the meso- and metathoracic ganglia. Four to six PER-immunoreactive (ir) neurons with processes in the accessory medulla were double labeled by an antibody against pigment-dispersion factor (PDF), a peptide that is implicated in circadian rhythmicity in Drosophila. In the central brain, projections of fibers labeled by the anti-PER and anti-PDF antibodies were mainly distinct, with overlap only in a few restricted regions. In most neurons, including those projecting into the accessory medulla, PER labeling was restricted to the cytoplasm and there was no indication of circadian variation in the intensity of staining.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Dr. K.K. Siwicki for the generous gift of the anti-PER antibodies, to Dr. Rao for the anti-PDF antiserum, and to Drs. K.K. Siwicki and F.-W. Schürmann for critically reading the manuscript. We appreciate the excellent work of K.A. Klukas in producing the figures.

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  1. Mathieu Lupien

    Present address: Division of Experimental Medicine, Meredith House, Room 305, McGill University, 1110 Pine Avenue W., Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1A3, Canada

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Vanderbilt University, Box 1812 St. B, Nashville, TN 37235, USA

    Stephanie Marshall, Winrich Leser & Hans-Willi Honegger

  2. Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, H3A 1B1, Canada

    Mathieu Lupien & Gerald S. Pollack

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  1. Mathieu Lupien
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Correspondence to Hans-Willi Honegger.

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Mathieu Lupien and Stephanie Marshall appear in alphabetical order. They contributed equally to the project

This work was supported by a grant of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Ho463/20–1) and from the NSF (grant number IBN 0080084 001) to H.W.H., and from the Fonds pour la Formation de Chercheurs et l'Aide à la Recherche of Québec to G.S.P. and S. Hekimi.

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Lupien, M., Marshall, S., Leser, W. et al. Antibodies against the PER protein of Drosophila label neurons in the optic lobe, central brain, and thoracic ganglia of the crickets Teleogryllus commodus and Teleogryllus oceanicus . Cell Tissue Res 312, 377–391 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-003-0720-6

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