Modulation of behavioral phase changes of the migratory locust by the catecholamine metabolic pathway.

ABSTRACT: The migratory locust, Locusta migratoria, shows a striking phenotypic plasticity. It transitions between solitary and gregarious phases in response to population density changes. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the phase-dependent behavior changes remains elusive. Here we report a genome-wide gene expression profiling of gregarious and solitary nymphs at each stadium of the migratory locust, and we identified the most differentially expressed genes in the fourth stadium of the two phases. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that the catecholamine metabolic pathway was the most significant pathway up-regulated in the gregarious phase. We found pale, henna, and vat1, involved in dopamine biosynthesis and synaptic release, were critical target genes related to behavioral phase chang

SUBMITTER: Ma Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3053982 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature