Innervation and neural regulation of the sex pheromone gland in female Heliothis moths.

Abstract

Female Heliothis moths normally produce their species-specific male attractant (sex pheromone blend) during scotophase, and this production is stimulated by pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN), presumably carried in the hemolymph. Several lines of evidence indicate that the central nervous system plays another critical role in this regulation. Pheromone biosynthesis was induced during photophase by electrical stimulation of the ventral nerve cord or the peripheral nerves projecting from the terminal abdominal ganglion to the pheromone gland in the tip of the abdomen. Electron microscopy further revealed that axonal branches innervate the gland tissue. Nerve branches associated with pheromone gland cells are enwrapped in glia and contain dense-core vesicles, suggesting that the innervation of the gland might be neurosecretory. Finally, the biogenic monoamine octopamine was nearly as effective as purified Heliothis zea PBAN in stimulating pheromone biosynthesis when injected into intact females during mid-photophase. Furthermore, both octopamine and PBAN stimulated significant increases in the pheromone content of the glands in isolated abdomens lacking a ventral nerve cord but only when abdomens were treated at the onset of scotophase. These data suggest that the regulation of sex pheromone production in Heliothis is more complex than previously thought. Activation of the gland appears to be governed by both neural and hormonal mechanisms, and these control mechanisms depend on photoperiodic cues.

Plant odour stimuli reshape pheromonal representation in neurons of the antennal lobe macroglomerular complex of a male moth

“…Tonic excitatory pheromone responses as observed in B profile neurons have been reported for several other moth species, e.g. B. mori (Kanzaki et al, 2003;Namiki et al, 2008), Helicoverpa (Heliothis) zea (Christensen et al, 1991) and Ostrinia nubilalis (Anton et al, 1997). Inhibition of MGC PNs after pheromone stimulation as in C profile neurons has so far only been described for stimulation with the minor pheromone component in M. sexta (Christensen et al, 1989;Heinbockel et al, 1999;Heinbockel et al, 2004;Lei et al, 2002).…”

The pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (PBAN) receptor of Heliothis virescens: Identification, functional expression, and structure–activity relationships of ligand analogs

“…The first PBANs identified from brain and subesophageal ganglia contain 33 or 34 amino acids, amidated at the C-terminus [5,14,16,24,27]. Despite significant advances over the last decades [4,10], many questions regarding the precise functional roles of PBANs remain. Recent efforts have focused on identification and tissue-specific expression of PBAN receptors.…”

Neural control of gene recruitment in metazoans

“…Secretion of pheromones in all the cases studied so far depends on neural mechanisms. In invertebrates, e.g., secretion of pheromones is neurohumorally regulated by neuropeptides such as PBAN (Christensen et al, 1991;Abernathy et al, 1996;Teal et al, 1999;Groot et al, 2005;Nagalakshmi et al, 2007), whose pheromonotropic effect is mediated by a receptor that is produced in the form of three subtypes by alternative splicing (Kim et al, 2008).…”

“…Innervation of pheromone-producing organs is also sometime indispensable for secretion of pheromones (Teal et al, 1989(Teal et al, , 1999Christensen et al, 1991). Secretion of pheromones in invertebrates is also regulated by the nervous system in response to environmental cues such as photoperiod (Christensen et al, 1991) and even in response to social interactions and social stimuli (Krupp et al, 2008).…”

“…Secretion of pheromones in invertebrates is also regulated by the nervous system in response to environmental cues such as photoperiod (Christensen et al, 1991) and even in response to social interactions and social stimuli (Krupp et al, 2008).…”