The neurotransmitters serotonin and glutamate accelerate the heart rate of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

Serotonin and glutamate are neurotransmitters that in insects are involved in diverse physiological processes. Both serotonin and glutamate have been shown to modulate the physiology of the dorsal vessel of some insects, yet until the present study, their activity in mosquitoes remained unknown. To test whether serotonin or glutamate regulate dorsal vessel physiology in the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, live mosquitoes were restrained, and a video of the contracting heart (the abdominal portion of the dorsal vessel) was acquired. These adult female mosquitoes were then injected with various amounts of serotonin, glutamate, or a control vehicle solution, and additional videos were acquired at 2 and 10 min post-treatment. Comparison of the videos taken before and after treatment revealed that serotonin accelerates the frequency of heart contractions, with the cardioacceleration being significantly more pronounced when the wave-like contractions of cardiac muscle propagate in the anterograde direction (toward the head). Comparison of the videos taken before and after treatment with glutamate revealed that this molecule is also cardioacceleratory. However, unlike serotonin, the activity of glutamate does not depend on whether the contractions propagate in the anterograde or the retrograde (toward the posterior of the abdomen) directions. Serotonin or glutamate induces a minor change or no change in the percentage of contractions and the percentage of the time that the heart contracts in the anterograde or the retrograde directions. In summary, this study shows that the neurotransmitters serotonin and glutamate increase the heart contraction rate of mosquitoes.