REGULATION OF METAMORPHOSIS BEHAVIOR IN THE TSETSE FLY

这项提议将使调查人员能够与科学家一起参与 在肯尼亚进行了一项研究计划，旨在发现监管 协调采摘过程中变态行为的机制， 非洲锥虫病的病媒。最初资助期的目标 是为了获得与tsetse相关的行为的良好概述 变形，但我们现在主要关注这些行为的一个子集， 分娩和分娩，这两个事件似乎特别 容易受到破坏。采采族有一种特殊的繁殖策略 哪些幼虫的发育是在雌性的子宫内完成的，以及 她生下了一只发育完全的三龄幼虫，幼虫会被蛹 在存入后一小时内。分娩是通过一种 可以用灵敏的 柱状图技术。这项技术，连同体外制剂 子宫肌肉，将被用来评估脑提取液的疗效， 已知的诱导或阻止分娩的激素和其他因素 响应，在这些实验结束时，我们预计 提供一个模型，解释分娩是如何中介的，以及它是如何 被打乱。 在采采蝇幼虫中，与其他苍蝇不同的是，中枢神经系统在 调节龟甲和角质层晒黑的开始。中枢神经系统是 感官信息的接受者，它评估一种 潜在的产卵地点，是中枢神经系统传递这一信息的 通过神经管道将信息直接传递到表皮细胞。这个 感觉输入的位置将由选择性的组合来确定 小面积角质层的破坏和解剖检查 角质层超微结构和神经支配。表皮的神经支配 将被检查以了解来自CNS的消息是如何转发到 表皮细胞，这一传播途径将用 药理制剂和已知的神经递质。 此外，已经在进行的一系列实验将确定 用于驱动成虫羽化的每日节律的环境线索 高峰出现在下午三点左右。 这一研究为理解变态行为提供了基础 及其在采采集中的调节，因此可能会增加对 控制这一重要害虫物种。

This proposal will enable the investigators to participate with scientists in Kenya on a research program aimed at the discovery of regulatory mechanisms that serve to coordinate metamorphosis behavior in tsetse, the vector of African trypanosomiasis. The goal of the initial funding period was to obtain a good overview of the behavior associated with tsetse metamorphosis, but we now focus primarily on a sub-set of these behaviors, parturition and pupariation, two events that appear to be particularly vulnerable to disruption. Tsetse has a peculiar reproductive strategy in which larval development is completed within the uterus of the female, and she gives birth to a fully developed third instar larva that pupariates within an hour after being deposited. Parturition is achieved through a sequence of internal contractions that can be monitored with a sensitive barographic technique. This technique, along with in vitro preparations of uterine muscle, will be used to evaluate the efficacy of brain extracts, known hormones and other agents in eliciting or blocking the parturition response, and at the conclusion of these experiments we anticipate presenting a model explaining how parturition is mediated and how it may be disrupted. In tsetse larvae, unlike other flies, the CNS plays a major role in regulating the onset of pupariation and cuticular tanning. The CNS is the recipient of sensory information that evaluates the suitability of a potential pupariation site, and it is the CNS, that relays this information directly to the epidermal cells through nervous conduits. The site of sensory input will be determined by a combination of selective destruction of small regions of the cuticle and an anatomical examination of cuticular ultrastructure and innervation. Innervation of the epidermis will be examined to understand how the message from the CNS is relayed to the epidermal cells, and this path of transmission will be probed using pharmacological agents and known neurotransmitters. In addition, a series of experiments already underway will determine the environmental cues used to drive the daily rhythm of adult eclosion that peaks in mid-afternoon. This study should provide a basis for understanding metamorphosis behavior and its regulation in tsetse and may thus augment strategies for the control of this important pest species.