FMRF-related peptides in Aedes aegypti midgut: neuromuscular connections and enteric nervous system

FMRFamide-related peptides (FaRPs) are a class of neuropeptides that participate in a variety of physiological processes in invertebrates. They occur in nerves of stomatogastric ganglia and enteroendocrine cells of the insect digestive tract, where they may control muscle functions. However, their direct involvement in muscle function has never been shown in situ. We studied the relationship between FaRPs and midgut muscle during larval-pupal transition of the mosquito Aedes aegypti. In late L4, FaRP-positive neuronal extensions attach to the bundles of the external circular muscle layer, and muscle stem cells start to undergo mitosis in the internal circular layer. Thereafter, the external muscle layer degenerates, disappearing during early pupal development, and is completely absent in the adult mosquito. Our results indicate that FaRP-based neural signals are involved in the reorganization of the muscle fibers of the mosquito midgut during the larval-pupal transition. In addition to confirming FaRP involvement in muscle function, we show that the mosquito midgut muscles are largely innervated, and that circular and longitudinal muscle have specific neuron bodies associated with them.