Localization and differential expression of FMRFamide-like immunoreactivity in the nematode Ascaris suum.

By immunocytochemical and immunohistochemical methods, FMRFamide-like immunoreactivity (FLI) was localized to many neurons and processes in the Ascaris nervous system, including the head, tail, and lateral lines. Some of these cells were identified; they included sensory neurons, interneurons, and motor neurons. FLI was also present in the pharyngeal neurons and in their varicosities near the surface of the pharynx. By HPLC analysis of extracts, only a subset of the FMRFamide-like peptides (FLPs) expressed in Ascaris heads, and heads from which the pharynx had been removed, were expressed in the pharynx. Furthermore, FLPs appeared to be differentially expressed in female heads and tails and male heads and tails. Acetone and acid methanol differentially extracted subforms of FLI from Ascaris heads and from C. elegans.