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Partial localization of a brain factor inhibiting egg production in the blood‐feeding insect, Rhodnius prolixus
Author(s) -
Chiang R. Gary
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
archives of insect biochemistry and physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.576
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1520-6327
pISSN - 0739-4462
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6327(1998)39:3<126::aid-arch5>3.0.co;2-2
Subject(s) - rhodnius prolixus , corpus allatum , insect , biology , rhodnius , blood meal , endocrinology , medicine , midgut , anatomy , arthropod , inhibitory postsynaptic potential , blood sucking , zoology , larva , juvenile hormone , ecology
A previous study by Davey [Can J Zool 4:243–249 (1987)] showed that egg production in the blood‐feeding insect Rhodnius prolixus is greatly enhanced when the corpus allatum (CA) is denervated. This result supported findings of others that the brain of Rhodnius imposes an inhibition on the CA via its connections to the CA. The present study identifies the nervus corporis cardiacum II (NCCII) as the nerve responsible for this inhibitory influence. Transecting the NCCII before feeding causes a dramatic increase in the number of eggs made. Since the NCCII is a relatively small nerve that may contain only axons of lateral and posterior neurosecretory cells in the protocerebrum, this result suggests that one or both of these cell types produce the brain factor inhibiting egg production in this insect. Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 39:126–131, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.