The Action of Iontophoretically Applied Glutamate On Insect Muscle Fibres

Electrophoretic application of L-glutamate from glass capillary micro-pipettes was used to investigate the ‘spot sensitivity’ of the membrane of coxal adductor muscle fibres from adult specimens of Schistocercagregaria Forskål and Locusta migratoria (L.). Circumscribed spots could be detected on the fibre surface where brief applications of L-glutamate produced transient depolarizations (glutamate potentials). Extracellular recording of excitatory junction potentials revealed that focal points of glutamate sensitivity are closely related to, and probably identical with, neuromuscular junctions. Large doses readily de-sensitized the membrane to L-glutamate for periods greatly exceeding the duration of the glutamate potentials. In chronically denervated muscles peaks of sensitivity could still be detected. Spots sensitive to L-glutamate were not depolarized by D-glutamate. The equilibrium point for glutamate potentials coincides with the equilibrium point of miniature excitatory potentials and lies between –10 and –25 mV.