Myinhibitors controlling oviduct contraction within the female blood-gorging insect, Rhodnius prolixus

What is the best way to recover from a long and tiring snow day? Curling up with the latest Hot Student Paper OF COURSE! Well, lucky for you Ph.D. student Laura Sedra (Lange Lab) recently published “Myinhibitors controlling oviduct contraction within the female blood-gorging insect, Rhodnius prolixus” in General and Comparative Endocrinology. If you are not an animal neurophysiologist you might not have known that muscle fibers are coordinated by stimulatory and inhibitory neuropeptides that result in the overall contraction and relaxation of the tissue. This paper focuses in on three specific neuropeptide families that are commonly classified as myoinhibitors: A-type allatostatins (FGLa/AST), B-type allatostatins (MIP/AST) and myosuppressins (MS). Laura shows that both allatostatin types are strong inhibitors of oviduct muscle contraction in Rhodnius prolixus and most likely regulate egg movement and egg-laying. Lastly, myosuppressins are effective inhibitors of reproductive muscle activity in other insects but not in Rhodnius making it quite unusual.

Well done Laura – keep up the great work!