Hormonal regulation in insects: facts, gaps, and future directions

摘要: There are two main classes of hormones in insects: 1) the true produced by epithelial glands and belonging to ecdysteroids or juvenile 2) neuropeptide neurosecretory cells. Members these regulate physiological, developmental, behavioral events insects. Detailed accounts given on isolation, identification, structure-activity relationships, mode action, biological function, biosynthesis, inactivation, metabolism, feedback for involved metabolic regulation such as adipokinetic/hypertrehalosemic peptides diuretic antidiuretic peptides; stimulation inhibition muscle activity myotropic 3) control reproduction, growth, development allatotropins, allatostatins, hormones, ecdysteroids, folliculostimulins folliculostatins, ecdysis-triggering eclosion pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptides, diapause hormones; 4) tanning color change. Because improvements techniques isolation structure elucidation, there has been rapid progress our knowledge chemistry certain families. With employment molecular techniques, genes some neuropeptides have successfully characterized. are, however, areas that still quite underdeveloped. These example, receptor studies, which their infancy; hormonal status sequenced is not clarified; functional studies lacking even established hormones. The authors plead a concerted effort continue research this field, will also advance into use insect safer species-specific molecules pest management.