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15.6.2: Insect Hormones

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    5464
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    Because of their rigid exoskeleton, insects can only grow by periodically shedding their exoskeleton - called molting. Molting occurs repeatedly during larval development. At the final molt, the adult emerges. In several insect orders, notably

    • ants and bees (Hymenoptera) — example the honeybee
    • flies (Diptera) — example Drosophila melanogaster
    • butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera) such as the silkworm moth

    the adult looks entirely different from the larva that preceded it. This marked transformation is called complete metamorphosis.

    alt
    Figure 15.6.2.1 Development cycles of silkworm moth

    Complete metamorphosis takes place during a seemingly-dormant stage called the pupa. In fact, intense biological activity is going on within the pupal case. The cells of virtually all the differentiated larval structures muscles, salivary glands, gut, etc. die by apoptosis. The nutrients they release are then available for the further development of nests of cells - the imaginal discs - that have been quietly developing within the larval body. Their differentiation produces the structures of the adult - legs, wings, compound eyes, etc.

    The sequence ending in the center panel (B) shows the larval, pupal, and adult stages during normal development of the domestic silkworm moth, Bombyx mori.

    Prothoracicotropic Hormone (PTTH)

    Molting and pupation require the hormone, PTTH, secreted by a two pairs of cells in the brain of the larva. If these cells are cut out of the brain of a full-grown larva, pupation does not occur. This is not because of the trauma of surgery; if transplanted somewhere else in the caterpillar's body, pupation occurs normally. PTTH is a homodimer of two polypeptides of 109 amino acids. PTTH does not drive pupation directly but, as its name suggests, acts on the prothoracic glands.

    Ecdysone

    There are two prothoracic glands located in the thorax. Under the influence of PTTH, they secrete the steroid hormone ecdysone. Acting together, PTTH and ecdysone trigger every molt: larva-to-larva as well as pupa-to-adult. What, then, accounts for the dramatic changes of metamorphosis?

    alt
    Figure 15.6.2.2 ECdysone

    Juvenile Hormone (JH)

    Juvenile hormone is secreted by two tiny glands behind the brain, the corpora allata. As long as there is enough JH, ecdysone promotes larva-to-larva molts. With lower amounts of JH, ecdysone promotes pupation. Complete absence of JH results in formation of the adult.

    alt
    Figure 15.6.2.3 Corpora allata

    So if the corpora allata are removed from an immature silkworm, it immediately spins a cocoon and becomes a small pupa. A miniature adult eventually emerges (shown in panel (A) above). Conversely, if the corpora allata of a young silkworm are place in the body of a fully-mature larva, metamorphosis does not occur. The next molt produces an extra-large caterpillar (panel (C) above).

    JH affects gene expression

    Adult insects do not normally molt, but if extra amounts of PTTH are given to an adult Rhodnius (the "kissing bug"), it is forced into an extra molt. The English insect physiologist V. B. Wigglesworth showed that if juvenile hormone is first applied to the insect's exoskeleton, the regions affected by it revert to larval type after this extra molt.

    alt
    Figure 15.6.2.4 Juvenile hormone applied to insects. These images (courtesy of Dr. Wigglesworth) show his results. Left: application of a band of juvenile hormone to the cuticle of an adult Rhodnius results in the formation of larval cuticle (speckled band) when the insect is forced to undergo an extra molt. Right: Dr. Wigglesworth has printed his initials with juvenile hormone.

    What a beautiful example of the power of a single molecule to unleash a different pattern of gene expression! Presumably, JH interacts with hormone receptors in the cells to produce a new set of transcription factors.

    Insect hormones and pest control

    Knowledge of insect hormones has provided a number of opportunities to enlist them or molecules related to them in the battle against insect pests.


    This page titled 15.6.2: Insect Hormones is shared under a CC BY 3.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by John W. Kimball via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.