A Novel Target for Antidiuretic Hormone in Insects

Diuresis in insects is controlled by two antagonistic hormone groups: diuretic hormones, which promote water loss, and antidiuretic hormones, which inhibit it. All known antidiuretic factors act solely to promote fluid reabsorption by the hindgut and do not affect secretion by the Malpighian tubules. In the house cricket, Acheta domesticus, an antidiuretic hormone was found that inhibits fluid secretion by the Malpighian tubules but has no effect on the hindgut. Correlations were found between the density of neurosecretory granules and the presence of antidiuretic hormone in the corpora cardiaca, suggesting that the hormone is released from specific axons. Its release is triggered by dehydration; the hormone is detectable in the hemolymph of water-deprived crickets. These results imply that an unusual mechanism regulates water balance in these insects.