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First published online May 2, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 1587-1593 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.016725
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Effects of the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801 on female reproduction and juvenile hormone biosynthesis in the cricket Gryllus bimaculatus and the butterfly Bicyclus anynana

Thorin L. Geister1,*, Matthias W. Lorenz1, Klaus H. Hoffmann1 and Klaus Fischer1,2

1 Department of Animal Ecology I, University of Bayreuth, D-95440 Bayreuth, Germany
2 Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: thorin.geister{at}uni-bayreuth.de)

Accepted 10 March 2008

Apart from regulating insect development, juvenile hormones (JHs) play an important role in insect reproduction, where they initiate vitellogenin synthesis and regulate the uptake of yolk by the ovary. JH synthesis is a tightly regulated process controlled by neurons and peptidergic neurosecretory cells. One of the known stimulatory regulators of JH biosynthesis is glutamate, and its N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor has been recently found in the cockroach Diploptera punctata. In this study we demonstrate a strong reduction in reproductive output in the tropical butterfly Bicyclus anynana and the Mediterranean field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus caused by the NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801. Such inhibiting effects on reproduction could be overruled by the application of JH mimics. In G. bimaculatus, MK-801 inhibits in vitro JH biosynthesis in the corpora allata and reduces in vivo JH haemolymph titres in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that JH biosynthesis in the corpora allata is at least in part controlled by an NMDA receptor with Ca2+ as a second level messenger. Based on our findings we consider NMDA receptor antagonists as important tools for manipulating juvenile hormone biosynthesis and therefore for gaining a better understanding of the mechanistic basis of reproduction.

Key words: fecundity, Corpora allata, glutamate receptor, insects


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