title: Digger wasp versus cricket: mechanisms underlying the total paralysis caused by the predator's venom.
abstract: The data presented here describe neurophysiological experiments addressing the question of cellular mechanisms underlying the total paralysis of locomotor behavior in crickets occurring after being stung by females of the digger wasp species Liris niger. The Liris venom effects have been studied by both in vivo recordings from identified neurons of the well-described giant fiber pathway and in vitro recordings from cultured neurons isolated from the terminal ganglion of crickets. The total paralysis of the prey is characterized by a general block of action potential generation as well as by a block of synaptic transmission. Intracellular recordings from neurons in intact ganglia under single electrode voltage-clamp conditions, as well as whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from cultured cricket neurons consistently show that the block of action potential generation by the Liris venom is due to a block of voltage-gated sodium inward currents in neurons of the stung ganglia. Furthermore, our data provide evidence that the Liris venom also blocks calcium currents in identified neurosecretory neurons. On the other hand, outward currents are not affected by the Liris venom. The in vitro recordings suggest that the Liris venom contains active venom components, which, at least for the observed block of inward currents, do not require a metabolic modification. Because venom application does not affect the ACh-induced EPSPs in giant interneurons, the Liris venom does not seem to influence the postsynaptic ACh receptors. The possible pre- and postsynaptic sites of venom action and the functional consequences on synaptic transmission within the giant fiber system are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Zoologisches Institut der J.-W. Goethe Universität Frankfurt, Siesmayerstr. 70, D-60323 Frankfurt, Germany. Michael.Ferber@mpi-expmed.mpg.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferber
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hörner
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cepok
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gnatzy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D048429:Cell Size; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004553:Electric Conductivity; D005260:Female; D006135:Gryllidae / Q000502:physiology*; D007395:Interneurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D009490:Neurosecretory Systems / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D010243:Paralysis / Q000139:chemically induced*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D014862:Wasp Venoms / Q000494:pharmacology; D014863:Wasps
chemical_list: D014862:Wasp Venoms