Stress-induced changes in the octopamine levels of insect haemolymph

Abstract The relationship between stress and haemolymph octopamine levels has been examined in the locust Schistocerca americana gregaria and the cockroach Periplaneta americana . The resting level of octopamine ( ± SE , n = 24 ) in haemolymph sampled in the first quarter of the light cycle from the metathoracic leg of locusts was 7.5 ± 0.7 pg/μl and 4.4 ± 0.8 pg/μl from the cockroach thorax. In P. americana , 74% of the octopamine in the haemolymph was present in the plasma. Significant variation in resting levels was found when haemolymph was taken from different sampling sites in locusts and when haemolymph was removed at various times during a 24 hr period from cockroaches, with the highest concentration coinciding with the peak of locomotor activity. This pattern was reversed in cockroach nervous tissue with octopamine accumulating in the photophase and being reduced in the scotophase. An increase in haemolymph octopamine was a common response to a variety of stressful stimuli in insects, with rises of up to 10-fold in locusts and 3-fold in cockroaches. The results are discussed in relation to insect activity levels and the proposed neurohormonal role of octopamine in mediating the fight or flight response in insects.

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