Johnston's organ and its central projections in Cataglyphis desert ants

Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-225679
  • The Johnston's organ (JO) in the insect antenna is a multisensory organ involved in several navigational tasks including wind‐compass orientation, flight control, graviception, and, possibly, magnetoreception. Here we investigate the three dimensional anatomy of the JO and its neuronal projections into the brain of the desert ant Cataglyphis, a marvelous long‐distance navigator. The JO of C. nodus workers consists of 40 scolopidia comprising three sensory neurons each. The numbers of scolopidia slightly vary between different sexesThe Johnston's organ (JO) in the insect antenna is a multisensory organ involved in several navigational tasks including wind‐compass orientation, flight control, graviception, and, possibly, magnetoreception. Here we investigate the three dimensional anatomy of the JO and its neuronal projections into the brain of the desert ant Cataglyphis, a marvelous long‐distance navigator. The JO of C. nodus workers consists of 40 scolopidia comprising three sensory neurons each. The numbers of scolopidia slightly vary between different sexes (female/male) and castes (worker/queen). Individual scolopidia attach to the intersegmental membrane between pedicel and flagellum of the antenna and line up in a ring‐like organization. Three JO nerves project along the two antennal nerve branches into the brain. Anterograde double staining of the antennal afferents revealed that JO receptor neurons project to several distinct neuropils in the central brain. The T5 tract projects into the antennal mechanosensory and motor center (AMMC), while the T6 tract bypasses the AMMC via the saddle and forms collaterals terminating in the posterior slope (PS) (T6I), the ventral complex (T6II), and the ventrolateral protocerebrum (T6III). Double labeling of JO and ocellar afferents revealed that input from the JO and visual information from the ocelli converge in tight apposition in the PS. The general JO anatomy and its central projection patterns resemble situations in honeybees and Drosophila. The multisensory nature of the JO together with its projections to multisensory neuropils in the ant brain likely serves synchronization and calibration of different sensory modalities during the ontogeny of navigation in Cataglyphis.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author: Robin Grob, Clara Tritscher, Kornelia Grübel, Christian Stigloher, Claudia Groh, Pauline N. Fleischmann, Wolfgang Rössler
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-225679
Document Type:Journal article
Faculties:Fakultät für Biologie / Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften
Language:English
Parent Title (English):Journal of Comparative Neurology
Year of Completion:2021
Volume:529
Issue:8
First Page:2138
Last Page:2155
Source:Journal of Comparative Neurology 2021, 529(8):2138–2155. DOI: 10.1002/cne.25077
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.25077
Dewey Decimal Classification:6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 61 Medizin und Gesundheit / 610 Medizin und Gesundheit
Tag:ant brain; chordotonal organ; graviception; magnetic compass; multisensory integration; navigation; wind compass
Release Date:2021/10/15
Licence (German):License LogoCC BY-NC-ND: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung, Nicht kommerziell, Keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International