Eur. J. Entomol. 96 (3): 255-266, 1999
Allatostatins and allatotropins: Is the regulation of corpora allata activity their primary function?
- N/A
More than 60 neuropeptides that inhibit juvenile hormone synthesis by the corpora allata have been isolated from the brains of various insect species. Most of them are characterized by a common C-terminal pentapeptide sequence Y/FXFGL/I/V (allatostatin A family, allatostatin superfamily). Besides the allatostatin A family, allatostatic neuropeptides belonging to other two peptide families (W2W9)-allatostatins or allatostatin B family; lepidopteran allatostatin) were reported. So far, only one allatotropin has been identified. Here we discuss latest literature on the multiplicity and multifunctionality of the allatoregulating neuropeptides, their physiological significance as well as their evolutionary conservation in structure and function.
Keywords: Allatostatin, allatotropin, JH-biosynthesis, myotropic activity, immunocytochemistry, cDNA, prohormone gene sequences, second messenger, protostomes, Insecta, Crustacea
Accepted: March 3, 1999; Published: October 25, 1999 Show citation
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.