TY  - JOUR
A1  - Mena, Wilson
A1  - Diegelmann, Sören
A1  - Wegener, Christian
A1  - Ewer, John
T1  - Stereotyped responses of Drosophila peptidergic neuronal ensemble depend on downstream neuromodulators
JF  - eLife
N2  - Neuropeptides play a key role in the regulation of behaviors and physiological responses including alertness, social recognition, and hunger, yet, their mechanism of action is poorly understood. Here, we focus on the endocrine control ecdysis behavior, which is used by arthropods to shed their cuticle at the end of every molt. Ecdysis is triggered by ETH (Ecdysis triggering hormone), and we show that the response of peptidergic neurons that produce CCAP (crustacean cardioactive peptide), which are key targets of ETH and control the onset of ecdysis behavior, depends fundamentally on the actions of neuropeptides produced by other direct targets of ETH and released in a broad paracrine manner within the CNS; by autocrine influences from the CCAP neurons themselves; and by inhibitory actions mediated by GABA. Our findings provide insights into how this critical insect behavior is controlled and general principles for understanding how neuropeptides organize neuronal activity and behaviors.
KW  - neuropeptides
Y1  - 2016
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-165003
VL  - 5
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Habenstein, Jens
A1  - Schmitt, Franziska
A1  - Liessem, Sander
A1  - Ly, Alice
A1  - Trede, Dennis
A1  - Wegener, Christian
A1  - Predel, Reinhard
A1  - Rössler, Wolfgang
A1  - Neupert, Susanne
T1  - Transcriptomic, peptidomic, and mass spectrometry imaging analysis of the brain in the ant Cataglyphis nodus
JF  - Journal of Neurochemistry
N2  - Behavioral flexibility is an important cornerstone for the ecological success of animals. Social Cataglyphis nodus ants with their age‐related polyethism characterized by age‐related behavioral phenotypes represent a prime example for behavioral flexibility. We propose neuropeptides as powerful candidates for the flexible modulation of age‐related behavioral transitions in individual ants. As the neuropeptidome of C. nodus was unknown, we collected a comprehensive peptidomic data set obtained by transcriptome analysis of the ants’ central nervous system combined with brain extract analysis by Q‐Exactive Orbitrap mass spectrometry (MS) and direct tissue profiling of different regions of the brain by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight (MALDI‐TOF) MS. In total, we identified 71 peptides with likely bioactive function, encoded on 49 neuropeptide‐, neuropeptide‐like, and protein hormone prepropeptide genes, including a novel neuropeptide‐like gene (fliktin). We next characterized the spatial distribution of a subset of peptides encoded on 16 precursor proteins with high resolution by MALDI MS imaging (MALDI MSI) on 14 µm brain sections. The accuracy of our MSI data were confirmed by matching the immunostaining patterns for tachykinins with MSI ion images from consecutive brain sections. Our data provide a solid framework for future research into spatially resolved qualitative and quantitative peptidomic changes associated with stage‐specific behavioral transitions and the functional role of neuropeptides in Cataglyphis ants.
KW  - brain
KW  - MALDI imaging
KW  - neuropeptides
KW  - neuropeptidomics
KW  - social insect
KW  - transcriptomics
Y1  - 2021
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-239917
VL  - 158
IS  - 2
SP  - 391
EP  - 412
ER  -