Comparative analysis of the locations of the NR1 and NR2 NMDA receptor subunits in honeybee (Apis mellifera) and fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster, Canton-S wild-type) cerebral ganglia.

The locations of the NR1 and NR2 subunits of the GABA receptor were studied in brain structures in insects--honeybees and fruit flies--using an immunohistochemical method. The specificities of the antibodies to the NR1 and NR2 subunits were confirmed by the antisense knockdown method for the NR1 subunit and western blotting. The data obtained here lead to the conclusion that the distributions of the NR1 and NR2 subunits of the NMDA receptor complex in the cerebral ganglia of the honeybee and fruit fly are similar; areas with the highest concentrations of NR1 and NR2 subunits were identified, and these were found to be different in the different insects. This is associated with the behavioral characteristics of these two insect species.