Stereotaxis in the Wild: How a Parasitoid Wasp Finds its Host’s Brain
-
1
Ben-Gurion University, Life Sciences, Israel
The parasitoid Jewel Wasp Ampulex compressa uses cockroaches (Periplaneta Americana) as hosts for its larvae. To render a cockroach a live and yet immobile food supply for the larva, the wasp uses its stinger to penetrate the cockroach head and inject neurotoxic venom directly inside the brain. Previous studies suggest that the wasp uses sensory feedback to locate the cockroach brain inside its head capsule, however, the underlying mechanism is yet unknown. In the current study we used several methodologies, including Electron Microscopy, behavioral analysis and electrophysiology, to identify the mechanism by which the wasp’s stinger discriminates the brain from non-neuronal tissue inside the cockroach head.
Electron Microscopy reveals numerous cuticular structures along the shaft of the wasp’s stinger, and especially along the dorsal valve which penetrates the cockroach brain during the sting. The morphology and ultrastructure of some of these structures resemble those of known mechanoreceptive campaniform-like sensilla. When the cockroach brain is surgically removed prior to a wasp’s sting, the stinging duration is significantly prolonged. However, when the cockroach brain is surgically removed and replaced by an agar pellet which roughly resembles the consistency of a cockroach brain (2.5% w/v), the stinging duration is normal and venom is injected inside the agar pellet. In contrast, the stinging duration is significantly prolonged and no venom is injected when the cockroach brain is surgically removed and replaced with an agar pellet with lower consistency (0.6% w/v). The later suggests that the wasp indeed uses mechanoreceptive feedback to target the cockroach brain. In further support of this, extracellular recordings from stinger afferents reveals significantly stronger and unidirectional responses to hard (2.5%) agar pellets compared with soft (0.6%) agar pellets. We therefore conclude that the wasp uses mechanosensory feedback from specialized sensilla on its stinger to accurately localize and discriminate the brain target inside the cockroach head.
References
Gal R, Libersat F. (2008) A Parasitoid Wasp Manipulates the Drive for Walking of Its Cockroach Prey. Curr Biol. 18(12):877-82.
Libersat F, Delago A and Gal R. (2009) Manipulation of host behavior by parasitic insects and insect parasites. Annu Rev Entomol. 54:189-207
Gal R, Libersat F. (2010) Wasp Manipulates Specific Neuronal Circuitry to Decrease the Drive for Walking in its Cockroach Prey. PLoS One. 7;5(4):e10019.
Keywords:
ampulex compressa,
Brain,
host,
Mechanoreception,
parasitoid,
periplaneta americana,
stinger,
venom
Conference:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology, College Park. Maryland USA, United States, 5 Aug - 10 Aug, 2012.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation (see alternatives below as well)
Topic:
Sensorimotor Integration
Citation:
Libersat
F and
Gal
R
(2012). Stereotaxis in the Wild: How a Parasitoid Wasp Finds its Host’s Brain.
Conference Abstract:
Tenth International Congress of Neuroethology.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnbeh.2012.27.00251
Copyright:
The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers.
They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters.
The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated.
Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed.
For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions.
Received:
30 Apr 2012;
Published Online:
07 Jul 2012.
*
Correspondence:
Prof. Frederic Libersat, Ben-Gurion University, Life Sciences, Beer Sheva, 84105, Israel, libersat@bgu.ac.il