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Distribution of neuropeptides in the primary olfactory center of the heliothine moth Heliothis virescens

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Abstract

Neuropeptides are a diverse widespread class of signaling substances in the nervous system. As a basis for the analysis of peptidergic neurotransmission in the insect olfactory system, we have studied the distribution of neuropeptides in the antennal lobe of the moth Heliothis virescens. Immunocytochemical experiments with antisera recognizing A-type allatostatins (AST-As), Manduca sexta allatotropin (Mas-AT), FMRFamide-related peptides (FaRPs), and tachykinin-related peptides (TKRPs) have shown that members of all four peptide families are present in local interneurons of the antennal lobe. Whereas antisera against AST-As, Mas-AT, and FaRPs give similar staining patterns characterized by dense meshworks of processes confined to the core of all antennal-lobe glomeruli, TKRPs are present only in neurons with blebby processes distributed throughout each glomerulus. In addition to local neurons, a pair of centrifugal neurons with cell bodies in the lateral subesophageal ganglion, arborizations in the antennal lobe, and projections in the inner antenno-cerebral tracts exhibits tachykinin immunostaining. Double-label immunofluorescence has detected the co-localization of AST-As, Mas-AT, and FaRPs in certain local interneurons, whereas TKRPs occurs in a distinct population. MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry has revealed nearly 50 mass peaks in the antennal lobe. Seven of these masses (four AST-As, two N-terminally extended FLRFamides, and Mas-AT) match known moth neuropeptides. The data thus show that local interneurons of the moth antennal lobe are highly differentiated with respect to their neuropeptide content. The antennal lobe therefore represents an ideal preparation for the future analysis of peptide signaling in insect brain.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Drs. H. Agricola, E. Marder, and J. Veenstra for providing antisera against neuropeptides, Dr. E. Buchner for the gift of the anti-synapsin antiserum, and Drs. R. Predel, C. Wegener, and J. Kahnt for their help with MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. We are also grateful to Syngenta, Basel, Switzerland for sending insect pupae and to T. Vuttudal for assistance with the figures.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Unit/Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7489, Trondheim, Norway

    Bente G. Berg

  2. Department of Biology, Animal Physiology, Philipps University, 35032, Marburg, Germany

    Joachim Schachtner, Sandra Utz & Uwe Homberg

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  1. Bente G. Berg
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  2. Joachim Schachtner
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  3. Sandra Utz
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  4. Uwe Homberg
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Correspondence to Bente G. Berg.

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This work was supported by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (project no. 80902101).

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Berg, B.G., Schachtner, J., Utz, S. et al. Distribution of neuropeptides in the primary olfactory center of the heliothine moth Heliothis virescens . Cell Tissue Res 327, 385–398 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-006-0318-x

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