Johnston's organ

Johnston's organ is a collection of sensory cells found in the pedicel (the second segment) of the antennae in the class Insecta.[1] Johnston's organ detects motion in the flagellum (third and typically final antennal segment). It consists of scolopidia arrayed in a bowl shape, each of which contains a mechanosensory chordotonal neuron.[2][3] The number of scolopidia varies between species. In homopterans, the Johnston's organs contain 25 - 79 scolopidia.[4] The presence of Johnston's organ is a defining characteristic which separates the class Insecta from the other hexapods belonging to the group Entognatha. Johnston's organ was named after the physician Christopher Johnston,[5] father of the physician and Assyriologist Christopher Johnston.

Uses of the Johnston's organ

In fruit flies and nonbiting midges

In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster and Chironomus annularius, the Johnston's organ contains almost 480 sensory neurons.[6] Distinct populations of neurons are activated differently by deflections of antennae caused by gravity or by vibrations caused by sound or air movement. This differential response allows the fly to distinguish between gravitational, mechanical, and acoustic stimuli.[1][7]

The Johnston's organ of fruit flies can be used to detect air vibrations caused by the wingbeat frequency or courtship song of a mate. One function of the Johnston's organ is for detecting the wing beat frequency of a mate.[2] Production of sound in air results in two energy components: the pressure component, which is changes in air pressure emanating away from the source of the sound; and the particle displacement component, which is the back and forth vibration of air particles oscillating in the direction of sound propagation.[8] Particle displacement has greater energy loss than the pressure component, so the displacement component, called "near-field sound", is detectable only within one wavelength of the source.[8]

Insects, such as fruit flies and bees, detect near-field sounds using loosely attached hairs or antennae which vibrate with air particle movement.[8] (Tympanal organs detect the pressure component of sound.) Near-field sound, because of the rapid dissipation of energy, is suitable only for very close communication.[8] Two examples of near-field sound communication are bee's waggle dance and Drosophila courtship songs.[8] In fruit flies, the arista of the antennae and the third segment act as the sound receiver.[8] Vibrations of the receiver cause rotation of the third segment, which channels sound input to the mechanoreceptors of the Johnston's organ.[8]

In hawk moths

The Johnston's organ plays a role in the control of flight stability in hawk moths. Kinematic data measured from hovering moths during steady flight indicate that the antennae vibrate with a frequency matching wingbeat (27 Hz). During complex flight, however, angular changes of the flying moth cause Coriolis forces, which are predicted to manifest as a vibration of the antenna of at about twice wingbeat frequency (~60 Hz). When antennae were manipulated to vibrate at a range of frequencies and the resulting signals from the neurons associated with the Johnston's organs were measured, the response of the scolopidia neurons to the frequency was tightly coupled in the range of 50–70 Hz, which is the predicted range of vibrations caused by Coriolis effects. Thus, the Johnston's organ is tuned to detect angular changes during maneuvering in complex flight.[9]

In honeybees

Dancing honeybees (Apis mellifera) describe the location of nearby food sources by emitted airborne sound signals. These signals consist of rhythmic high-velocity movement of air particles. These near-field sounds are received and interpreted using the Johnston's organ in the pedicel of the antennae.[10] Honeybees also perceive electric field changes via the Johnston's organs in their antennae and possibly other mechanoreceptors. Electric fields generated by movements of the wings cause displacements of the antennae based on Coulomb's law. Neurons of the Johnston's organ respond to movements within the range of displacements caused by electric fields. When the antennae were prevented from moving at the joints containing the Johnston's organ, bees no longer responded to biologically relevant electric fields. Honeybees respond differently to different temporal patterns. Honeybees appear to use the electric field emanating from the dancing bee for distance communication.[11][12]

References

  1. Kamikouchi, A; Inagaki, HK; Effertz, T; Hendrich, O; Fiala, A; Göpfert, MC; Ito, K (2009). "The neural basis of Drosophila gravity-sensing and hearing" (PDF). Nature. 458 (7235): 165–71. doi:10.1038/nature07810. PMID 19279630.
  2. Göpfert, MC; Robert, D (May 2002). "The mechanical basis of Drosophila audition". Journal of Experimental Biology. 205 (Pt 9): 1199–208. PMID 11948197.
  3. Yack, JE (April 2004). "The structure and function of auditory chordotonal organs in insects". Microscopy Research and Technique. 63 (6): 315–37. doi:10.1002/jemt.20051. PMID 15252876.
  4. Rossi Stacconi, Marco Valerio; Romani, Roberto (2013). "The Johnston's organ of three homopteran species: A comparative ultrastructural study". Arthropod Structure and Development. 42 (3): 219–228. doi:10.1016/j.asd.2013.02.001. PMID 23428838.
  5. Johnston, C (1855). "Auditory Apparatus of the Culex Mosquito" (PDF). Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science. 3: 97–102.
  6. Kamikouchi, A.; Shimada, T.; Ito, K. (2006). "Comprehensive classification of the auditory sensory functions in the brain of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster". Journal of Comparative Neurology. 499 (3): 317–356. doi:10.1002/cne.21075. PMID 16998934.
  7. Yorozu, S.; Wong, A.; Fischer, B.J.; Dankert, H.; Kerman, J.J.; Kamikouchi, A.; Ito, K.; Anderson, D.J. (2009). "Distinct sensory representations of wind and near-field sound in the Drosophila brain". Nature. 428 (7235): 201–5. doi:10.1038/nature07843. PMC 2755041. PMID 19279637.
  8. Tauber, E.; Eberl, D. F. (2003). "Acoustic communication in Drosophila". Behavioural Processes. 64 (2): 197–210. doi:10.1016/s0376-6357(03)00135-9.
  9. Sane, Sanjay P.; Dieudonne, Alexandre; Willis, Mark A.; Daniel, Thomas L. (2007). "Antennal Mechanosensors Mediate Flight Control in Moths". Science. 315 (5813): 863–866. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.205.7318. doi:10.1126/science.1133598. PMID 17290001.
  10. Dreller, C.; Kirchner, W. H. (1993). "Hearing in honeybees: localization of the auditory sense organ". Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 173 (3): 275–279. doi:10.1007/bf00212691.
  11. Greggers, Uwe; Koch G; Schmidt V; Dürr A; Floriou-Servou A; Piepenbrock D; Göpfert MC; Menzel R (22 May 2013). "Reception and learning of electric fields". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 280 (1759): 20130528. doi:10.1098/rspb.2013.0528. PMC 3619523. PMID 23536603.
  12. Greggers, Uwe. "ESF in bees".
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