A cDNA encoding a G-protein-coupled receptor was cloned from the central nervous system of the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. The predicted amino acid sequence of this cDNA most closely resembles the Drosophila tyramine/octopamine receptor, the Locusta tyramine receptor, and an octopamine receptor (Lym oa1) that we recently cloned from Lymnaea. After stable expression of the cDNA in HEK293 cells...

The biogenic amine octopamine modulates a variety of aspects of insect motor behavior, including direct action on the flight central pattern generator. A number of recent studies demonstrate that tyramine, the biological precursor of octopamine, also affects invertebrate locomotor behaviors, including insect flight. However, it is not clear whether the central pattern generating networks are di...

Here we report the characterization of an octopamine/tyramine (OA/TA or TyrR1) receptor (OA/TAMac) cloned from the freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, an animal used in the study of agonistic social behavior. The invertebrate OA/TA receptors are seven trans-membrane domain G-protein coupled receptors that are related to vertebrate adrenergic receptors. Behavioral studies in arthropods ...

A multineuronal proprioceptor, the femoral chordotonal organ (feCO), monitors the position and movements of the tibia of an insect leg. Superfusing the locust metathoracic feCO with the neuromodulator octopamine, or the octopamine agonist synephrine, affects the position (tonic) component of the organ's response, but not the movement (phasic) component. Both octopamine and synephrine act with t...

In Drosophila, the monoamine octopamine, through mechanisms that are not completely understood, regulates both aggression and mating behavior. Interestingly, our study demonstrates that the Drosophila obesity-linked homologs Transcription factor AP-2 (TfAP-2; TFAP2B in humans) and Tiwaz (Twz; KCTD15 in humans) interact to modify male behavior by controlling the expression of Tyramine β-hydroxyl...

In ophiuroids, bioluminescence is under nervous control. Previous studies have shown that acetylcholine is the main neurotransmitter triggering light emission in Amphipholis squamata and Amphiura filiformis. By contrast, none of the neurotransmitters tested so far induced luminescence in two other ophiuroid species, Ophiopsila aranea and Ophiopsila californica. The aim of this work was thus to ...

Synaptic plasticity – the ability of a synapse to change – is fundamental to basic brain function and behavioral adaptation. Studying the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity benefits our understanding of the formation of neuronal connections and circuitry, which has great implications in the field of learning and memory and the studies of numerous human diseases. The Drosophila larval neuromuscul...

Fasting or starvation of 1(st)- and 2(nd)-day fifth instar Manduca sexta larvae leads to rapid activation of fat body glycogen phosphorylase. Under feeding conditions, 21-29% of the phosphorylase was found in the active form. However, after only one hour of starvation, the active form increased to 55-65%. In larvae on the 3(rd)-day there was a slower increase in the activation, requiring three ...

Animals change their behavior and metabolism in response to external stimuli. cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) is a signal-activated transcription factor that enables the coupling of extracellular signals and gene expression to induce adaptive changes. Biogenic amine neurotransmitters regulate CREB and such regulation is important for long-term changes in various nervous system func...

Starvation is probably the most common stressful situation in nature. In vertebrates, elevation of the biogenic amine norepinephrine levels is common during starvation. However, the precise role of norepinephrine in nutrient deprivation remains largely unknown. We report that in the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, up-regulation of the biosynthesis of octopamine, the invertebrate co...