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Journal of Experimental Biology 147,457-470 (1989)
Published by Company of Biologists 1989

The Larval Eclosion Hormone Neurones in Manduca Sexta: Identification of the Brain-Proctodeal Neurosecretory System

JAMES W. TRUMAN ¹ and PHILIP F. COPENHAVER ²

¹ Department of Zoology, University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195, USA
² Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University School of Medicine 660 S. Euclid Avenue, St Louis, MO 63110, USA

Larval and pupal ecdyses of the moth Manduca sexta are triggered by eclosion hormone (EH) released from the ventral nervous system. The major store of EH activity in the latter resides in the proctodeal nerves that extend along the larval hindgut. At pupal ecdysis, the proctodeal nerves show a 90% depletion of stored activity, suggesting that they are the major release site for the circulating EH that causes ecdysis. Surgical experiments involving the transection of the nerve cord or removal of parts of the brain showed that the proctodeal nerve activity originates from the brain. Retrograde and anterograde cobalt fills and immunocytochemistry using antibodies against EH revealed two pairs of neurons that reside in the ventromedial region of the brain and whose axons travel ipsilaterally along the length of the central nervous system (CNS) and project into the proctodeal nerve, where they show varicose release sites. These neurons constitute a novel neuroendocrine pathway in insects which appears to be dedicated solely to the release of EH.

Key words: eclosion hormone, Manduca, neurosecretion, ecdysis

Accepted on June 5, 1989

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