The Journal of Neuroscience, February 15, 2003, 23(4):1109
BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Central Modulatory Neurons Control Fuel Selection in Flight
Muscle of Migratory Locust
Tim
Mentel1,
Carsten
Duch1,
Heike
Stypa2,
Gerhard
Wegener2,
Uli
Müller1, and
Hans-Joachim
Pflüger1
1 Institute of Biology/Neurobiology, Free
University Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany, and 2 Institute
of Zoology, Department of Molecular Physiology, Johannes-Gutenberg
University, 55099 Mainz, Germany
Insect flight is one of the most intense and energy-demanding
physiological activities. High carbohydrate oxidation rates are
necessary for take-off, but, to spare the limited carbohydrate reserves, long-distance flyers, such as locusts, soon switch to lipid
as the main fuel. We demonstrate that before a flight, locust muscles
are metabolically poised for take-off by the release of octopamine from
central modulatory dorsal unpaired median (DUM) neurons, which
increases the levels of the potent glycolytic activator fructose
2,6-bisphosphate in flight muscle. Because DUM neurons innervating the
flight muscles are active during rest but selectively inhibited during
flight, they stimulate carbohydrate catabolism during take-off but tend
to decrease muscle glycolysis during prolonged flight. cAMP-dependent
protein kinase A is necessary but not sufficient for signal
transduction, suggesting parallel control via a calcium-dependent
pathway. Locust flight is the first reported instance of a direct and
specific involvement of neuronal activity in the control of muscle
glycolysis in working muscle during exercise.
Key words:
insect; octopamine; metabolism; motor behavior; glycolysis; neuromuscular system; modulation
Copyright © 2003 Society for Neuroscience 0270-6474/03/2341109-05$05.00/0