HR: 0800h
AN: B41A-04    [Abstracts]
TI: Preliminary characterization of iron-containing material and of neuronal assembles responsive to magnetic stimulation in the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
AU: * Fuentes, A
EM: almafuentes70@hotmail.com
AF: Facultad de Biología Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Av. Fco. J. Mugica s/n, Morelia, 58030, Mayotte
AU: Barrera, J
EM: yaniss40@hotmail.com
AF: Facultad de Biología Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Av. Fco. J. Mugica s/n, Morelia, 58030, Mayotte
AU: Rizi, A
EM: agostino.rizzi@unimi.it
AF: Laboratorio di Microscopia Elettronica e Microanalisi c/o Dip. Scienze della Terra "Ardito Desio", via Mangiagalli 34, Milano, 20133, Italy
AU: Urrutia, J
EM: juf@geofisica.unam.mx
AF: Dpto. de Paleomagnetismo, Instituto de Geofísica. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito escolar s/n Col Copilco, Distrito Federal, 04510, Mayotte
AU: Gutierrez, G
EM: gabo@correo.biomedicas.unam.mx
AF: Dpto. Biología Celular y Fisiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito escolar s/n Col Copilco, Distrito Federal, 04510, Mayotte
AB: Migration is a common process among animal groups. Most of the biological events underlying migratory behavior are yet unknown. This is especially true for the neural mechanisms and the sensory information used by migratory species to define their routes. Hence, the present work aimed at demonstrating that the Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) may use magnetic cues to define their route of migration by mapping neuronal assembles responsive to magnetic stimuli. Because research conducted in other insect species suggests that magnetite-based receptors may transduce the magnetic information into neuronal codes, we also evaluated the presence of magnetite in the body of the monarch butterfly. Our electron microscopy results demonstrate that the butterfly's head, abdomen and thorax contain iron particles of about 1-5 mm in diameter. Accordingly, Prussian blue histochemical techniques revealed the presence of abundant ferric deposits in diverse regions of the nervous system and the ventral abdomen. In contrast, the thoracic segments have only a few deposits. Finally, magneto metric measures concord with the morphological results. With regard to the mapping of the neuronal assembles responsive to magnetic stimuli, we were able to revealed c-fos immunoreactivity in groups of neurons located in the retina, lamina, lobula and deutero-cerebrum in butterflies subjected to magnetic stimuli. In sum, we believe that our results provide preliminary evidence supporting the existence of 1) a neural pathway capable of processing magnetic information in the monarch butterfly and 2) the presence of magnetite-like material in the various segments of its body.
DE: 0416 Biogeophysics
DE: 0419 Biomineralization
SC: Biogeosciences [B]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly