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The coxo-trochanteral muscle receptor organ of locusts

Dendritic tubular bodies in a non-ciliated insect mechanoreceptive neuron

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Summary

The coxo-trochanteral muscle receptor organ of the hind leg of the locust Locusta migratoria migratorioides (R.&F.) has been investigated by use of scanning and transmission electron microscopy with special emphasis on its distal attachment site. The overall morphology of the receptor muscle, the sensory neuron and its dendrites was found to share many common features with other arthropod sense organs of that type with two important differences: (1) the connective tissue segment (= intercalated tendon) is extremely short compared to that of other muscle receptor organs; (2) the naked dendritic terminals of the non-ciliated, multipolar sensory neuron of the organ contain clusters of microtubules, interconnected by an amorphous matrix, that resemble the tubular bodies of ciliated, epithelial receptor cells.

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Abbreviations

MRO :

muscle receptor organ

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Supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Br 882 and Hu 223)

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Bräunig, P., Cahill, M.A. & Hustert, R. The coxo-trochanteral muscle receptor organ of locusts. Cell Tissue Res. 243, 517–524 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00218058

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