IMR Press / FBE / Volume 1 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.2741/E24

Frontiers in Bioscience-Elite (FBE) is published by IMR Press from Volume 13 Issue 2 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article
Peptides and serotonin control feeding-related events in Rhodnius prolixus
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1 Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
Front. Biosci. (Elite Ed) 2009, 1(1), 250–262; https://doi.org/10.2741/E24
Published: 1 June 2009
Abstract

Rhodnius prolixus periodically gorges on a blood meal that could compromise salt and water balance. This, however, is prevented by rapid production of urine within minutes of feeding. The Malpighian tubules increase their rate of secretion 1,000 fold leading to the production of a hypo-osmotic urine that is high in NaCl content. Feeding and post-prandial diuresis in R. prolixus are tightly coordinated events, involving a variety of neurons within the central nervous system. The present review considers how neurohormones provide flexibility in signaling for the maintenance of hemolymph homeostasis in response to challenges associated with blood-gorging. As will be demonstrated, the overall control of events associated with gorging is complex, and utilizes a range of neuropeptide families and serotonin acting upon a variety of tissues to bias them towards a new functional state.

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