THE LEVELS OF BIOGENIC-AMINES IN THE CORPORA ALLATA, CORPORA CARDIACAAND FRONTAL GANGLION IN THE CRICKET, GRYLLUS-BIMACULATUS

Secretory activity of the corpora allata (CA) and corpora cardiaca (CC ) in the parsintercerebralis complex has been suggested to be controll ed by biogenic amines, despite a lack of quantitative information. The situation is similar to the frontal ganglion (FG), a member of the sa me complex. Hence, the levels of biogenic amines and related substance s in these organs were measured in cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus, by hi gh performance liquid chromatography with electrochemical detection. A ll organs examined contained considerable amounts of major biogenic am ines, such as octopamine (OA), dopamine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT ). They also included epinephrine. The amounts of OA and 5-HT were hig her than those of other biogenic amines whose presence was detected in the examined organs. The distributional patterns of biogenic amines w ere different among the CA, CC and FG, e.g., the highest content of OA in the CC. The presence of precursors and metabolites indicates that biogenic amines are synthesized and metabolized in neuronal elements i n the examined organs. It is probable that they are functional and als o involved in the neural control of hormone secretion in CA and CC, be cause their turnover rates estimated from the present analysis are com parable to those in the nervous system.