Octopamine has been proposed as a neurotransmitter/modulator/hormone serving a variety of physiological functions in invertebrates. We have initiated a study of octopamine in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, which provides an excellent system for genetic and molecular analysis of neuroactive molecules. As a first step, the distribution of octopamine immunoreactivity was studied by means of an octopamine-specific antiserum. We focused on the central nervous system (CNS) and on the innervation of the larval body wall muscles. The larval octopamine neuronal pattern was composed of prominent neurons along the midline of the ventral ganglion, whereas brain lobes were devoid of immunoreactive somata. However, intense immunoreactive neuropil was observed both in the ventral ganglion and in the brain lobes. Some of the immunoreactive neurons sent peripheral fibers that innervated most of the muscles of the larval body wall. Octopamine immunoreactivity was observed at neuromuscular junctions in all larval stages, being present in a well-defined subset of synaptic boutons, type II. Octopamine immunoreactivity in the adult CNS revealed many additional neurons compared to the larval CNS, indicating that at least a subset of adult octopamine neurons may differentiate during metamorphosis. Major octopamineimmunoreactive neuronal clusters and neuronal processes were observed in the subesophageal ganglion, deutocerebrum, and dorsal protocerebrum, and intense neuropil staining was detected primarily in the optic lobes and in the central complex.Keywords octopamine neuron; insect nervous system; neuromuscular junction; synaptic bouton; immunocytochemistry Biogenic amines as chemical messengers in the nervous system of arthropods are thought to play crucial roles in several aspects of their behavior (reviewed by Bicker and Menzel, 1989). Octopamine, one of the biogenic amines extensively studied in invertebrates, has been proposed as neurotransmitter, neuromodulator, and neurohormone in a variety of physiological processes (for reviews, see David and Coulon, 1985;Evans, 1985Evans, , 1992 Address reprint requests to Dr. Maria Monastirioti, Department of Biology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02254..
HHS Public Access
Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript Bicker and Menzel, 1989). In crustaceans, octopamine has been implicated in the neuromodulation of rapid response circuits controlling the escape behavior of crayfish (Glanzman and Krasne, 1983) and in the aggressive and submissive postures in lobsters (reviewed by Kravitz, 1988). In a variety of insect species, octopamine has been implicated in both central and peripheral neural functions. It stimulates activity of the firefly light organ (Nathanson, 1979), induces flight motor activity, and acts as neurotransmitter/modulator in the locust central nervous system (CNS; Sombati and Hoyle, 1984). Octopamine regulates hormone release in cockroaches (Downer et al., 1984), induces lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in crickets (Fields ...