Department of Applied Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan.
Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2011 May 15;172(1):90-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2011.03.004. Epub 2011 Mar 21.
In insects, especially phytophagous insects, feeding behavior occurs at a regular frequency. Although a number of physiological studies have revealed various causal factors leading to feeding behavior in insects, little has been demonstrated regarding the regulatory mechanisms underlying insect feeding behavior. To confirm the presence of an endocrinological regulatory mechanism in feeding behavior, we tested the effects of several biologically active peptides on silkworm, Bombyx mori larvae feeding behaviors. To evaluate the effects of the biologically active peptides, we measured the period of latency to the first bite following sample injection into starved Bombyx larvae. Of the chemically synthesized peptides tested, myosuppressin exhibited a prolonged latency, indicating that myosuppressin is a possible inhibitory peptide in Bombyx larvae. In contrast, injections of tachykinin and short neuropeptide F, which are members of the structurally related RF-amide peptide family, had a shorter latency period, indicating that these two peptides are possible stimulatory peptides. In addition, the present study suggests that this bioassay will be advantageous for screening for peptides that regulate insect feeding behavior.
在昆虫中，特别是植食性昆虫，取食行为以一定的频率发生。虽然一些生理学研究已经揭示了导致昆虫取食行为的各种因果因素，但关于昆虫取食行为的调节机制却鲜有报道。为了证实取食行为存在内分泌调节机制，我们测试了几种生物活性肽对家蚕幼虫取食行为的影响。为了评估生物活性肽的作用，我们测量了饥饿家蚕幼虫注射样品后第一次取食的潜伏期。在所测试的化学合成肽中，肌抑制肽表现出较长的潜伏期，表明肌抑制肽是家蚕幼虫中一种可能的抑制肽。相比之下，注射速激肽和短神经肽 F，它们是结构相关的 RF-酰胺肽家族的成员，潜伏期较短，表明这两种肽可能是刺激肽。此外，本研究表明，这种生物测定法将有利于筛选调节昆虫取食行为的肽。
