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Immunohistochemical evidence for the presence of tryptophan hydroxylase in the brains of insects as revealed by sheep anti-tryptophan hydroxylase polyclonal antibody

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Abstract

Immediately following the discovery of tryptophan hydroxylase in Drosophila, we demonstrated the presence of tryptophan hydroxylase in the brain of the beetle Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae). However, whether tryptophan hydroxylase is present in the brains of other insects is still a matter of discussion. In the current study, sheep anti-tryptophan hydroxylase polyclonal antibody has been applied to test for tryptophan hydroxylase immunoreactivity in a broader taxonomic range of insect brains, including holometabolous and hemimetabolous insects: one species each of Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera, and Blattaria, and two species of Lepidoptera. All species show consistent tryptophan hydroxylase immunoreactivity with distribution patterns matching that of serotonin. The immuno-positive results of such an antibody in brains from diverse orders of insects suggest that specific tryptophan hydroxylase responsible for central serotonin synthesis is probably present in the brains of all insects.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Samuel Beshers for assistance with editing and English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Insect Brain Neurobiology, School of Life Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, People’s Republic of China

    Xuexiang Bao, Zhifu Zhao, Yutang Qu, Bin Wang, Jinbei Zhang, Tianyi Liu & Lina Yang

  2. Key Laboratory for Terrain-Machine Bionics Engineering (Ministry of Education, China), Jilin University at Nanling Campus, Changchun, 130022, People’s Republic of China

    Ximei Tian

  3. Jilin Province Sericultural Scientific Research Institute, Jilin, 132200, People’s Republic of China

    Jiye Lv

  4. School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, People’s Republic of China

    Chuantao Song

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  1. Xuexiang Bao
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  2. Ximei Tian
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  3. Zhifu Zhao
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  4. Yutang Qu
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  5. Bin Wang
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  6. Jinbei Zhang
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  7. Tianyi Liu
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  8. Lina Yang
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  9. Jiye Lv
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  10. Chuantao Song
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Correspondence to Xuexiang Bao.

Additional information

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant no. 30470546) and the Natural Science Foundation of Jilin Province (grant no. 20030550–7).

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Bao, X., Tian, X., Zhao, Z. et al. Immunohistochemical evidence for the presence of tryptophan hydroxylase in the brains of insects as revealed by sheep anti-tryptophan hydroxylase polyclonal antibody. Cell Tissue Res 332, 555–563 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-008-0596-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-008-0596-6

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