Structure and distribution of dorsal unpaired median (DUM) neurones in the abdominal nerve cord of male and female locusts. 1988

H J Pflüger, and A H Watson
Fakultät für Biologie, Universität Konstanz, West Germany.

Dorsal unpaired median (DUM) neurones in insects have been shown to modulate the activity of both skeletal and visceral muscle. It has been suggested that as a population they carry out a role analogous to that of the sympathetic nervous system in vertebrates; however, the extent of their distribution throughout the ventral nerve cord has not been assessed. This paper aims to fill this gap by systematically describing the number and morphology of DUM neurones in each of the abdominal ganglia of male and female locusts. To achieve this, the lateral nerves of each abdominal ganglion were backfilled to reveal the position of the somata of DUM neurones. To confirm their identity and reveal their structure, DUM somata were then impaled with microelectrodes and, after physiological characterization, the neurones were stained by intracellular injection with cobalt ions. In each of the first six abdominal ganglia of both sexes, two DUM neurones, one with axons in the tergal nerve and one with axons in the sternal nerve, were found. In the seventh abdominal, and the terminal, ganglion (composed of the eighth to eleventh neuromeres), there was considerable sexual dimorphism in DUM neurone distribution, which was most marked in those associated with some of the nerves innervating the genitalia. In the male, four clusters of somata in the seventh, eighth, and tenth segments have axons in the genital nerve. In the female, which lacks a genital nerve, clusters of DUM neurones, absent in the male, have axons in the seventh and eighth sternal nerves and the cercal nerve.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D009420 Nervous System The entire nerve apparatus, composed of a central part, the brain and spinal cord, and a peripheral part, the cranial and spinal nerves, autonomic ganglia, and plexuses. (Stedman, 26th ed) Nervous Systems,System, Nervous,Systems, Nervous
D009474 Neurons The basic cellular units of nervous tissue. Each neuron consists of a body, an axon, and dendrites. Their purpose is to receive, conduct, and transmit impulses in the NERVOUS SYSTEM. Nerve Cells,Cell, Nerve,Cells, Nerve,Nerve Cell,Neuron
D005260 Female Females
D005724 Ganglia Clusters of multipolar neurons surrounded by a capsule of loosely organized CONNECTIVE TISSUE located outside the CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM.
D006110 Grasshoppers Plant-eating orthopterans having hindlegs adapted for jumping. There are two main families: Acrididae and Romaleidae. Some of the more common genera are: Melanoplus, the most common grasshopper; Conocephalus, the eastern meadow grasshopper; and Pterophylla, the true katydid. Acrididae,Locusts,Romaleidae,Grasshopper,Locust
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia

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