Identification of melatonin in the compound eyes of an insect, the locust (Locusta migratoria), by radioimmunoassay and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.
Melatonin, a well-known pineal substance implicated in conveying photoperiodic information in vertebrates, appears also to be present in the compound eyes of an insect, the locust. The identification of melatonin in the eyes of an invertebrate suggests that it may be an evolutionary conservative molecule, principally involved in the time transduction of photoperiodic information in all living organisms.
D000818:Animals; D002849:Chromatography, Gas; D005123:Eye / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D006110:Grasshoppers / Q000032:analysis*; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D008550:Melatonin / Q000032:analysis*; D011863:Radioimmunoassay
D008550:Melatonin