open access

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/42702

Postembryonic development of sexually dimorphic glomeruli and related interneurons in the cockroach Periplaneta americana

英語

Sexual dimorphism

2010-01-18

Elsevier Ireland

Neuroscience Letters

469(1)

60-64

In most insects, sex pheromone is processed by an enlarged glomerular complex (macroglomerular complex, MGC) in the male antennal lobe (first-order olfactory center). The MGC of the American cockroach consists of two closely located A- and B-glomeruli which are responsible for processing the major sex pheromone components, periplanone-A and -B, respectively. Using anterograde dye injection, we investigated sexual dimorphism in sensory afferents and interneuron. The A- and B-glomeruli exist in the first larval instar of both sexes. The female MGC homolog grows at a relatively constant rate (1.2-1.8-fold growth per molt) throughout development, whereas the male MGC shows a period of accelerated growth between the 5th and 9th instars, where volume can be more than double in a single molt. These different growth patterns resulted in a 1:30 ratio in glomerular complex volumes of adult females versus males. In the female MGC-homolog, afferents originating from the dorsal and ventral antennal surfaces were biased toward anterior and posterior regions, and segregation of these afferents was less clear compared to the adult male. The staining of interneurons projecting to the protocerebrum revealed that projection patterns characteristic of sex pheromone processing appear in the late 8th instar in males, while possibly homologous projections in the female were far fewer in number. These results suggest that the glomerular complexes in pre-8th larval males, and probably females, are not differentiated for specific detection of sex pheromone. Male-specific projections for sex pheromone detection may be formed by modification of pre-existing neural circuitry.

学術雑誌論文

Accepted Manuscript

0304-3940