Tissue signaling pathways in the regulation of life-span and reproduction in females of the linden bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus

Molecular studies on Drosophila melanogaster do not provide consistent results with regard to the hormonal regulation of a trade-off between life-span and fecundity. To unravel the physiological basis of the cost of reproduction without affecting animalʹs genotype, a new insect model, Pyrrhocoris apterus, was employed. Reproduction was manipulated by surgical ablations of tissues implicated in reproductive endocrinology, namely the pars intercerebralis (PI) of the brain, the corpus allatum (CA) and the ovary, and the response of life-span to these interventions under diapause-promoting short days and reproduction-promoting long days was measured. Life-span of long-day females increased in the following order: control (high fecundity)=ovary-ablation (no egg production)<PI-ablation (low fecundity)<CA-ablation=ovary+CA-ablation (no reproduction)<CA+PI-ablation (no reproduction). These results show that: (1) PI-signaling (presumably insulin-like peptides) and CA-signaling (juvenile hormone) reduce life-span of long-day females in additive manner and (2) the ovary has no effect on life-span. Life-span of short-day females increased in the following order: PI-ablation (low fecundity)<CA+PI-ablation (no reproduction)<control=CA-ablation (no reproduction). These results implicate factors from the PI that actively extend life-span of short-day females via down-regulation of CA-signaling and also via CA-independent pathway(s). Overall, the data indicate that life-span and reproduction are linked by signals from PI and CA, but, in contrast with the widely held view, neither production of eggs nor gonad-signaling are costly to female longevity.