Postembryonic development of leucokinin I‐producing neurons in the brain of insect Spodoptera litura

Abstract

Antisera against the myotropic neuropeptide leucokinin I, originally isolated from head extracts of the cockroach Leucophaea maderae, have been used to investigate the distribution of the leucokinin I‐immunoreactive (LK I‐IR) neurons in the brain of the common cutworm, Spodoptera litura, during postembryonic development. The LK I‐IR neurons are found at the larval stages (excluding first instar larval stage), pupal stages, and adult stage, of which the brains have been examined in this experiment. The number of the LK I‐IR neurons in the brain increases from the second instar larva to the fifth instar larva which has about 32, the largest number in all postembryonic stages. Thereafter, the LK I‐IR neurons begin to decrease in number. During the pupal stages, smaller number of LK I‐IR neurons persist in the brains; 6 or 4. At adult stage the brain contains 8 LK I‐IR neurons. The LK I‐IR cell bodies are distributed in each dorsal cortex of both cerebral hemispheres in the second instar larva and through all the neuromeres of the brain during later larval stages, despite of being a large number of the LK I‐IR cell bodies in dorsolateral neuromeres. At pupal stages, most of the LK I‐IR cell bodies are found in the pars intercerebralis. Extremely small number of the LKI‐IR cell bodies are localized in the pars lateralis. Adult brain contains the LK I‐IR cell bodies in the pars intercerebralis and the middle cortex of the posterior brain. The LK I‐IR nerve processes can be easily found in the neuropils of almost all the neuromeres in the brains of third, fourth, fifth and sixth instar larvae. Most of the LK I‐IR nerve fibers in those brains are originated from the LK I‐IR cell bodies located in the brains. The LK I‐IR cell bodies which have very weak reactivities to the antisera do not show projection of the LK I‐IR nerve processes in the brains.

Key words:

• Postembryonic development
• Neuropeptide leucokinin I
• Immunoreactive neurons
• Brain
• Insect
• Spodoptera litura

Notes

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