Two eyestalk (ES) neuropeptides, molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH) and crustacean hyperglycemic hormone (CHH), increase intracellular cGMP levels in target tissues. Both MIH and CHH inhibit ecdysteroid secretion by the molting gland or Y-organ (YO), but apparently through different guanylyl cyclase (GC)-dependent pathways. MIH signaling may be mediated by nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and NO-sensitiv...

The gene that encodes vitellogenin (Vg), the precursor of the major yolk protein, vitellin, is expressed during vitellogenesis in decapod crustaceans. In this study, we sequenced the full-length cDNA from the Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei Vg gene (LvVg). This is the first open thelycum penaeid shrimp Vg cDNA to be sequenced. The transcript encodes a 2587 amino acid polypeptide with ...

The morphology and ultrastructure of the antennal sensilla of male Hydrotaea (Hydrotaea) armipes (Fallén) are examined via scanning electron microscopy in order to highlight the importance of antennal sensilla as a source of morphological characters for taxonomy and phylogeny of Hydrotaea. Antennal scape and pedicel have only one type of sensilla, the sharp-tipped chaetic sensilla, whereas ante...

The oriental armyworm, Mythimna separata (Walker), is a polyphagous, migratory pest relying on olfactory cues to find mates, locate nectar, and guide long-distance flight behavior. In the present study, a combination of neuroanatomical techniques were utilized on this species, including backfills, confocal microscopy, and three-dimensional reconstructions, to trace the central projections of se...

Insect antennae serve a variety of sensory functions including tactile sensing, olfaction and flight control. For all of these functions, the precise positioning of the antenna is essential to ensure the proper acquisition of sensory feedback. Although antennal movements in diverse insects may be elicited or influenced by multimodal sensory stimuli, the relative effects of these cues and their ...

The red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii is a highly adaptable, tolerant, and fecund freshwater crayfish that inhabits a wide range of aquatic environments. It is an important crustacean model organism that is used in many research fields, including animal behavior, environmental stress and toxicity, and studies of viral infection. Despite its widespread use, knowledge of the crayfish genome ...

Inhibitors of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) maintain a balance between cell growth and death by suppressing caspase activity modulating immunological responses. Here, two IAPs (EhIap1 EhIap2) were identified from Eriocheir hepuensis using RT-PCR technology characterized bioinformatics software. Sequence analysis showed that the open reading frames EhIap1 EhIap2 composed 1,839 bp 696 encoded 612 ami...

The aim of the study was to investigate effects of the triazine herbicide prometryne on red swamp crayfish on the basis of oxidative stress, antioxidant indices in hepatopancreas and muscle, and histopathology of hepatopancreas. Crayfish were exposed to prometryne concentrations of 0.51  μ g L(-1), 0.144 mg L(-1), and 1.144 mg L(-1) for 11 and 25 days. Indices of oxidative stress (thiobarbituri...

In this paper, we describe the seasonal dynamics of three common microcystins (MCs; MC-RR, MC-YR, and MC-LR) in the whole body, hepatopancreas, intestine, gonad, foot, remaining tissue, and offspring of a freshwater snail, Bellamya aeruginosa, from Gonghu Bay of Lake Taihu, China, where dense toxic Microcystis blooms occur in the warm seasons. Microcystins were determined by liquid chromatograp...

Two species of common edible fish, common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), were exposed to a Microcystis spp.-dominated natural cyanobacterial water bloom for two months (concentrations of cyanobacterial toxin microcystin, 182-539 microg/g biomass dry wt). Toxins accumulated up to 1.4 to 29 ng/g fresh weight and 3.3 to 19 ng/g in the muscle of silver carp an...