Oxytocin-like neuropeptide signaling in locusts

Christian W. Gruber1 and Jozef Vanden Broeck2 1 Medical University of Vienna, Center for Physiology and Pharmacology, Vienna, Austria 2 University of Leuven, Department of Animal Physiology and Neurobiology, Leuven, Belgium Abstract (public relations) With approximately 11,000 described species, grasshoppers form one of the largest known groups of animals. In particular the group of locusts has successfully conquered almost every continent on Earth mainly attributed to their swarming behavior, which causes severe agricultural problems. The largest known locust swarm consisted of approximately 12.5 trillion insects weighing 27.5 million tons. Certain messenger molecules, called neuropeptides, exhibit an important physiological role by regulation of developmental processes, reproductive and group behavior, and these hormones may indeed be important in the regulation of swarm formation and other physiological aspects of locusts. Recently the genetic blueprint of several locust species has been reported and hence now it is possible to study certain molecular components of locust physiology. Using state-of-the-art techniques of biology, pharmacology and endocrinology we aim to study the oxytocin-like hormone system of locusts, and in particular would like to determine its functional role in behavior, reproduction and water homeostasis in these insects. Ultimately this information may provide novel fundamental insight into neuroendocrinology and evolution, but may also lead to opportunities for insect pest control to the benefit of agricultural productivity and human quality-of-life.

With approximately 11,000 described species, grasshoppers form one of the largest known groups of animals. In particular the group of locusts has successfully conquered almost every continent on Earth mainly attributed to their swarming behavior, which causes severe agricultural problems. The largest known locust swarm consisted of approximately 12.5 trillion insects weighing 27.5 million tons. Certain messenger molecules, called neuropeptides, exhibit an important physiological role by regulation of developmental processes, reproductive and group behavior, and these hormones may indeed be important in the regulation of swarm formation and other physiological aspects of locusts. Recently the genetic blueprint of several locust species has been reported and hence now it is possible to study certain molecular components of locust physiology. Using state-of-the-art techniques of biology, pharmacology and endocrinology we have studied the oxytocin-like hormone system of locusts, and in particular to determine its functional role in behavior, reproduction and water homeostasis in these insects. The resulting information provided novel fundamental insight into neuroendocrinology and evolution of insects but may also lead to opportunities for insect pest control to the benefit of agricultural productivity in the future. In addition, we were able to utilize the insect-derived neuropeptides as chemical probes and drug lead candidates to gain further insights into the pharmacology of related human neuropeptide receptors signaling systems.