Pwk. Ma et al., CHARACTERIZATION OF PBAN AND PBAN-ENCODING GENE NEUROPEPTIDES IN THE CENTRAL-NERVOUS-SYSTEM OF THE CORN-EARWORM MOTH, HELICOVERPA-ZEA, Journal of insect physiology, 42(3), 1996, pp. 257-266
Both female and male adult corn earworm moths, Helicoverpa tea, were u
tilized to demonstrate, by immunochemical techniques, the presence and
localization of the pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (H
ez-PBAN), A polyclonal antibody was used and was shown to be specific
to the C-terminal end of Hez-PBAN, Several other peptides with a simil
ar five amino acid C-terminal ending also cross-reacted in competitive
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs), Immunocytochemical metho
ds determined that in both adult male and female moths immunoreactive
material was found in three clusters of cells in the subesophageal gan
glion (SEG) and that axons projected from these cell bodies to the cor
pora cardiaca (CC) and down the ventral nerve cord (VNC), The CC also
contained immunoreactive material, Each thoracic and abdominal ganglio
n also contained a pair of cell bodies with immunoreactivity. In addit
ion, two pairs of axons originating from cell bodies in the SEG extend
ed the entire length of the VNC and terminated in the last abdominal g
anglion, ELISAs indicated that the brain-SEC complex contained the hig
hest levels of PBAN-like material followed by the CC and thoracic gang
lia respectively, The abdominal ganglia contained low levels of this m
aterial, Bioassays of nervous tissue also indicated the same relative
levels of PBAN-like material in each part of the nervous system, HPLC
fractionation of nervous tissue followed by ELISAs indicated the prese
nce of several other PBAN-related peptides in the brain-SEC complex an
d CC, The thoracic ganglia had a different profile and contained lower
levels of the peptides, These results indicate that male and female a
dult moths have similar localization of PBAN-related peptides and that
the five PBAN-related peptides previously deduced from the gene seque
nce are probably present in the SEC and CC.