IMR Press / FBL / Volume 14 / Issue 11 / DOI: 10.2741/3536

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (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
Neural mechanisms coordinating the female reproductive system in the locust
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1 Department of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6, Canada
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2009, 14(11), 4401–4415; https://doi.org/10.2741/3536
Published: 1 January 2009
Abstract

The production of viable offspring is a complex task, involving courtship, mating, maturation of eggs, ovulation, fertilization of eggs, and oviposition. With particular regard to the female, the reproductive system must produce eggs at the appropriate time and deposit them after fertilization in an appropriate place. Thus, the various structures of the reproductive system must be tightly coordinated and integrated. This review focuses on the female reproductive system and the neural mechanisms that lead to its integrated control. Central pattern generators, that are linked, control oviposition digging behavior, and contractions of the lower lateral and upper common oviducts that lead to retention of eggs. Sensory neurons also provide information about the presence of an egg in the genital chamber via a feedback loop to coordinate the spermatheca and thereby, fertilization. Neuropeptides and amines can modulate central and peripheral control mechanisms. These neural mechanisms are integrated such as to produce coordinated behavior, leading to the accomplishment of the ultimate task, that of producing viable offspring.

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