The effect of venom from the Indian tropical wasp Vespa tropica on nerve-muscle preparations from Drosophila larvae.

The action of the venom of Vespa tropica on spontaneous and evoked release of excitatory neurotransmitter at the larval neuromuscular junction of Drosophila melanogaster was studied. The frequency of spontaneous miniature end plate potentials in venom treated nerve-muscle preparation falls rapidly after treatment, while the m.e.p.p. amplitude decreases to about 50% after 6 min of treatment with 1.2 X 10(-5) g of the venom per ml. The end plate potential decreased steadily while the resting membrane potential was less affected. The paralysed preparation did not recover, even after extensive washing.

PMID: 6419395 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]