Insects Periplaneta americana

Abed, D., Cheviet, P, Farine, J. P, Bonnard, O., Fe Quere, J. F. and Brossut, R. (1993c). Calling behaviour of female Periplaneta americana behavioural analysis and identification of the pheromone source. Journal of Insect Physiology 39 709-720. Adams, M. A., Nakanishi, K Still, W. C Arnold, E. V., Clardy, J. and Persoons, C. J. 

Salecker, I. and Boeckh, J. (1995). Embryonic development of the antennal lobes of a hemimetabolous insect, the cockroach Periplaneta americana light and electron microscopic observations. Journal of Comparative Neurology 352 33-54. 

Silverman, J. M. (1977). Patterns of response to sex pheromone by young and mature adult male cockroaches, Periplaneta americana. Journal of Insect Physiology 23 1015-1019. 

Wharton, M. L. and Wharton, D. R. A. (1957). The production of sex attractant substance and of oothecae by the normal and irradiated American cockroach, Periplaneta americana L. Journal of Insect Physiology 1 229-239. 

Coodin S. and Caveney S. (1992) Lipophorin inhibits the adhesion of cockroach (Periplaneta americana) haemocytes in vitro. J. Insect Physiol. 38, 853-862. 

Kitabayashi A. N., Arai T., Kubo T. and Natori S. (1998) Molecular cloning of cDNA for plO, a novel protein that increases in regenerating legs of Periplaneta americana (American cockroach). Insect Biochem. Mol. Biol. 28, 785-790. 

The ability of insects to withstand desiccation was recognized in the 1930s to be due to the epicuticular layer of the cuticle. Wigglesworth (1933) described a complex fatty or waxy substance in the upper layers of the cuticle which he called cuticulin . The presence of hydrocarbons in this wax of insects was suggested by Chibnall et al. (1934) and Blount et al. (1937), and over the next few decades the importance of hydrocarbons in the cuticular wax of insects was established (Baker et al., 1963 and references therein). The first relatively complete chemical analyses of the hydrocarbons from any insect, the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana (Baker et al., 1963), occurred after the development of gas-liquid chromatography (GLC). The three major components of the hydrocarbons of this insect, //-pen taco sane, 3-methylpentacosane and (Z,Z)-6,9-heptacosadiene, represent the three major classes of hydrocarbons on insects, n-alkanes, methyl-branched alkanes and alkenes. Baker and co-workers (1963) were able to identify n-pentacosane by its elution time on GLC to a standard and its inclusion in a 5-angstrom molecular sieve. 3-Methylpentacosane... 

Jackson, L.L. (1972). Cuticular lipids of insects IV. Hydrocarbons of the cockroaches Periplaneta japonica and Periplaneta americana compared to other cockroach hydrocarbons. Comp. Biochem. Physiol., 41B, 331-336. 

Said, I., Gaertner, C., Renou, M. and Rivault, C. (2005). Perception of cuticular hydrocarbons by the olfactory organs in Periplaneta americana (L.)(Insecta, Disctyoptera)../. Insect Physiol., 51,1384-1389. 

Vroman, H.E., Kaplanis, J.N. and Robbins, W.E. (1965). Effect of allatectomy on lipid biosynthesis and turnover in the female American cockroach, Periplaneta americana (L)../. Insect Physiol., 11, 897-903. 

The //-alkanes usually range in chain length from 21 to 31 or 33 carbons. Hydrocarbons with fewer than 20 carbons commonly occur as pheromones, defensive compounds and intermediates to pheromones and defensive compounds, but their volatility makes them unsuited to function as cuticular components, n-Alkanes have been found on almost every insect species analyzed, and can range from less than one percent of the total hydrocarbons, as in tsetse flies (Nelson and Carlson, 1986 Nelson et al., 1988) to almost all of the hydrocarbon fraction, as in the adult tenebrionid beetle, Eurychora sp. (Lockey, 1985). Depending upon the species, they can consist of essentially only one major component, such as n-pentacosane in the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana (Jackson, 1972) to a series of //-alkanes, such as the series from C23 to C33 in the housefly, Musca domes-tica (Nelson et al., 1981), with trace amounts to C37 (Mpuru et al., 2001). In all cases, the odd-numbered alkanes predominate, due to their formation from mostly two carbon units followed by a decarboxylation (Blomquist, Chapter 3, this book). Small amounts of even-numbered carbon chain //-alkanes often occur, and presumably arise from chain initiation with a propionyl-CoA rather than an acetyl-CoA. Occasionally, gas chromatographic analyses reveal similar amounts of even-numbered chain //-alkanes and odd-numbered chain components. This is a red flag that the samples must be checked for contamination. 

Reserpine. As mentioned earlier, the Rauwolfia alkaloid reserpine is noted for its ability to deplete aromatic biogenic amines in nervous tissue of mammals and insects. One of the more remarkable effects of reserpine in humans is to render individuals indifferent to environmental stimuli. Reserpine appears to have a similar effect on insects, although information is still relatively scanty. In the cockroach, Periplaneta americana, reserpine at 50 vg/g causes strong and long-lasting depletion of the aromatic biogenic amines dopamine, octopamine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine (24). Numerous authors have noted that reserpine has tranquilizing effects on insects, e.g., the ant Formica rufa (30) and . americana (24,31). 

Nakagawa, Y. and Matsumura, F., Diflubenzuron affects gamma-thioGTP stimulated Ca2+ transport in vitro in intracellular vesicles from the integument of the newly molted American cockroach, Periplaneta americana L., Insect Biochem. Molec. Biol, 24,1009,1994. 

Few attempts have been made to characterize insect glucosyl-transferases and the reports that do exist are quite equivocal. Thus, in contrast to mammalian glucosyltransferases that are localized in the microsomal fraction of tissue homogenates ( ), those from the housefly, cockroach (Periplaneta americana) and locust (S ch istocerca can ce11 ata) are reported to be associated with the 15,0D0-2O,OOOg pellet (13,14) and that from the tobacco horn-worm (Manduca Sexta) with TRe igh speed supernatant (14). The enzyme has been identified in gut and fat body tissues oT the few insect species studied and may have a fairly broad tissue distribution. 

Insect control. Another practical use for the brassinosteroids appears to be in the area of insect control. Richter and Koolman (17) have presented data to show that these compounds possess antiecdysteroid activity. The duration of the larval stage was delayed in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana, by approximately ten days. 

In the CNS of the cockroach Periplaneta americana, we have demonstrated the presence of GABA receptor-activated chloride ion channels Both the radiolabelled ligand binding and the electrophysiological studies have shown that the pharmacology of these insect CNS GABA receptors differs from that of the GABA receptors... 

Animals. Adult male cockroaches (Periplaneta americana) were reared at 24°C and fed rat chow and water ad lib. For 24 hours prior to dissection they were isolated in individual containers. Fireflies (Photinus pyralis) were caught locally and either used immediately, or the whole insects were frozen at -80°C until use. Tobacco hornworms (Manduca sexta) were reared on an artificial diet and utilized in the 3rd or 4th day of the final larval instar. 

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