QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Dewael, Y. Articles by Mallefet, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Dewael, Y. Articles by Mallefet, J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

The Journal of Experimental Biology 205, 799-806 (2002)
© 2002 The Company of Biologists Limited

Luminescence in ophiuroids (Echinodermata) does not share a common nervous control in all species

Y. Dewael^* and J. Mallefet

Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Catholic University of Louvain, Bâtiment Carnoy, 5 Place Croix du Sud, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

*e-mail: dewael{at}bani.ucl.ac.be

Accepted 2 January 2002

Study of the control mechanisms of light emission in invertebrates shows the involvement of several neurotransmitters. In ophiuroids, only one species (Amphipholis squamata) has so far been characterized for luminescence control, which seems to be cholinergic, with an influence of several excitatory and inhibitory neuromodulators (amino acids, catecholamines, neuropeptides S1 and S2, purines). The aim of this work is to investigate the nature of control mechanisms of light emission in three luminous ophiuroid species, A. filiformis, O. aranea and O. californica, in order to see whether or not they share common mechanisms. Luminescence induced by general depolarisation of tissues using KCl (200 mmol l^–1) shows different patterns, according to species. Only A. filiformis emits light in response to acetylcholine. In this species, the involvement of both muscarinic and nicotinic receptors is proposed, since atropine and tubocurarine (at 10^–3 mol l^–1) inhibited 99 % and 71 %, respectively, of the light emitted. Study of the subtypes of cholinergic receptors involved in photogenesis revealed that several subtypes of muscarinic receptors might be involved. It was also clearly shown that ophiuroids did not share a common mechanism of nervous control of luminescence in all species.

Key words: echinoderm, ophiuroid, bioluminescence, nervous control, acetylcholine, muscarinic receptor, nicotinic receptor, Amphiura filiformis, Ophiopsila aranea, Ophiopsila californica.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Vanderlinden and J. Mallefet Synergic effects of tryptamine and octopamine on ophiuroid luminescence (Echinodermata) J. Exp. Biol., October 1, 2004; 207(21): 3749 - 3756. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Vanderlinden, Y. Dewael, and J. Mallefet Screening of second messengers involved in photocyte bioluminescence control of three ophiuroid species (Ophiuroidea: Echinodermata) J. Exp. Biol., September 1, 2003; 206(17): 3007 - 3014. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]