Effect of the neuropeptides corazonin and CCAP on mosquito heart physiology

Insects employ a series of muscular pumps to propel hemolymph to all areas of the body.  The primary hemolymph-pumping organ is the dorsal vessel, which is divided into a thoracic aorta and an abdominal heart.  The control of dorsal vessel contractions is poorly understood, but several arthropod neuropeptides alter heart contraction rates and contraction directionality in multiple insect orders.  In this talk, the gene structure and developmental expression of Anopheles gambiae corazonin and crustacean cardioactive peptide will be presented, as will the effect these peptides have in modulating mosquito heart physiology.