Fine structure of the sensilla and immunolocalisation of odorant binding proteins in the cerci of the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria
1Institute of Animal and Plant Quarantine, Chinese Academy of Inspection and Quarantine, Beijing, China 100029
2Key Lab for Biocontrol of Pests, The Ministry of Agriculture, National Key Laboratory for Agricultural
Biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China 100193
3Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, Shanghai, China 200135
Abstract
Using light and electron microscopy (both scanning and transmission), we observed the presence of sensilla chaetica and hairs on the cerci of the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria L. (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Based on their fine structures, three types of sensilla chaetica were identified: long, medium, and short. Males presented significantly more numbers of medium and short sensilla chaetica than females (p<0.05). The other hairs can also be distinguished as long and short. Sensilla chaetica were mainly located on the distal parts of the cerci, while hairs were mostly found on the proximal parts. Several dendritic branches, enveloped by a dendritic sheath, are present in the lymph cavity of the sensilla chaetica. Long, medium, and short sensilla chaetica contain five, four and three dendrites, respectively. In contrast, no dendritic structure was observed in the cavity of the hairs. By immunocytochemistry experiments only odorant-binding protein 2 from L. migratoria (LmigOBP2) and chemosensory protein class I from the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria Forsskål (SgreCSPI) strongly stained the outer lymph of sensilla chaetica of the cerci. The other two types of hairs were never labeled. The results indicate that the cerci might be involved in contact chemoreception processes.
Keywords: cerci, chemoreception, scanning electron microscopy, Schistocerca gregaria, transmission electron microscopy
Abbreviations: LmigCSPII, L. migratoria chemosensory protein; LmigOBP1, LmigOBP2, and LmigOBP3, L. migratoria odorant-binding proteins; SgreCSPI, S. gregaria chemosensory protein
Correspondence:
a yuxue4607@yahoo.cn,
b shuhuizhou@sohu.com,
c shanganzhang@ioz.ac.cn,
d* locust@cau.edu.cn, *Corresponding author
Received: 8 February 2010 | Accepted: 13 May 2010 | Published: 14 April 2011
Copyright: This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
ISSN: 1536-2442 | Volume 11, Number 50
Yu Y, Zhou S, Zhang S, Zhang L. 2011. Fine structure of the sensilla and immunolocalisation of odorant binding proteins in the cerci of the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria. Journal of Insect Science 11:50 available online: insectscience.org/11.50
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