Clock-related neuropeptides in <i>Acyrthosiphon pisum</i>.

Overview

1. Neurobiology and Genetics, Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biozentrum, Julius-Maximilians-University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
2. Institut de Biologia Integrativa de Sistemes (I2SysBio), Universitat de València, Paterna, Spain

Abstract

Introduction: The pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum) is a strongly photoperiodic insect. Although the involvement of the circadian clock in insect photoperiodism is well established, the neuronal and molecular mechanisms by which clock neurons convey photoperiodic information remain largely unknown. Neuropeptides commonly act as neuromessengers in circadian clock neurons, yet little is known about the neuropeptidergic organization of the circadian clock in the pea aphid.

Methods: Here, we characterized the complete set of neuropeptides in the aphid brain and, using a combination of transcriptomic and peptidomic approaches, and investigated the neuropeptides expressed in the circadian clock neurons using immunohistochemistry.

Results: We confirmed a large number of peptides, including several peptides described for the first time in this species. Furthermore, we found that circadian clock neurons express a variety of these neuropeptides, some of which overlapped within the same clock neuron type. In the lateral clock neurons, we found Pigment-Dispersing Factor, FMRFamide, Orcokinin a and Allatotropin, a neuropeptide profile that closely resembles that of cockroach clock neurons but differs markedly from that of the fruit fly, with the exception of Pigment-Dispersing Factor. In dorsal clock neurons, which are homologous to those that are presynaptic to insulin-producing cells in Drosophila, we detected Allatostatin A, Diuretic Hormone 31, FMRFamide, and Myoinhibitory peptide.

Discussion: Together, our findings provide the first comprehensive map of neuropeptides associated with the pea aphid circadian clock, offering new insights into how clock neurons may regulate seasonal responses and establishing a foundation for future functional studies of neuropeptide-mediated photoperiodism

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Data

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• figshare:32411367 — at figshare; found in “Data availability statement”

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are publicly available. This data can be found in the NCBI SRA repository with the following accession numbers: SRR063706, PRJNA79725; SRR7037537, PRJNA450900; SRR9209839, PRJNA547535; SRR9209842, PRJNA547535; SRR12776646, PRJNA667506; SRR7037541, PRJNA450900, and at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.32411367.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, pages, dates, 5 authors, 8 keywords, 128 references.

Cite

This paper

Colizzi, F. S., Liessem, S., Morales-Poole, J. R., Martínez-Torres, D., & Helfrich-Förster, C. (2026). Clock-related neuropeptides in <i>Acyrthosiphon pisum</i>. Frontiers in genetics, 17, 1818975. https://doi.org/10.3389/fgene.2026.1818975

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