Role of Endocrine System in the Regulation of Female Insect Reproduction

Simple Summary The abundance of insects indicates that they are one of the most adaptable forms of life on earth. Genetic, physiological, and biochemical plasticity and the extensive reproductive capacity of insects are some of the main reasons for such domination. The endocrine system has been known to regulate different stages of physiological and developmental processes such as metabolism, metamorphosis, growth, molting, and reproduction. However, in this review, we focus on those aspects of the endocrine system that regulate female insect reproduction. The proper understanding of the endocrine system will help us to better understand the insect reproductive system as well as to develop new strategies to control the insect pest population. The juvenile hormone analogs and molting hormone analogs have been widely used to control the insect pests. Such insect growth regulators are usually more specific and cause little harm to the beneficial organisms. Therefore, a proper understanding of these signaling pathways as well as their interaction with each other and other signaling pathways is very crucial. Further, the interaction of microbiome with the endocrine system is also discussed. The proper synthesis and functioning of ecdysteroids and juvenile hormones (JHs) are very important for the regulation of vitellogenesis and oogenesis. However, their role and function contrast among different orders, and even in the same insect order. For example, the JH is the main hormone that regulates vitellogenesis in hemimetabolous insect orders, which include Orthoptera, Blattodea, and Hemiptera, while ecdysteroids regulate the vitellogenesis among the insect orders of Diptera, some Hymenoptera and Lepidoptera. These endocrine hormones also regulate each other. Even at some specific stage of insect life, they positively regulate each other, while at other stages of insect life, they negatively control each other. Such positive and negative interaction of 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) and JH is also discussed in this review article to better understand the role of these hormones in regulating the reproduction. Therefore, the purpose of the present review is to deeply understand the complex interaction of endocrine hormones with each other and with the insulin signaling pathway. The role of microbiomes in the regulation of the insect endocrine system is also reviewed, as the endocrine hormones are significantly affected by the compounds produced by the microbiota.

Automated summary

Insects possess a highly adaptable reproductive system regulated by their endocrine hormones, with different insect orders showing variations in the regulation of vitellogenesis. Positive and negative interactions between endocrine hormones, such as 20E and JH, play crucial roles in regulating insect reproduction at different stages of their life cycle. Additionally, the impact of microbiomes on the insect endocrine system is also significant, as compounds produced by microbiota can affect hormone synthesis and function.