Tyramine and octopamine receptors as a source of biorational insecticides

Biogenic amines such as dopamine (DA), octopamine (OA) and tyramine (TA) are widely distributed in the central nervous system of insects (Evans 1980). The administration of biogenic amines and agonists or antagonists for their receptors and direct measurement of concentrations of biogenic amines under various conditions indicate that these agents function as neurotransmitters, neuromodulators and neurohormones. They are involved in regulating many physiological phenomena such as learning (Dudai 1986), memory (Yovell and Dudai 1987), circadian rhythms (Muszynska-Pytel and Cymborowski 1978), contraction rhythm of muscles, flight (Goosey and Candy 1980), walking, feeding behaviour (Long et al. 1986), juvenile hormone (JH) (Lafon-Cazal and Baehr 1988; Granger et al. 1996; Grutenko et al. 2007), mating behaviour, pheromone production (Rafaeli and Gileadi 1995) and the reaction to various stressor stimuli (Davenport and Evans 1984).