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First published online August 31, 2007
Journal of Experimental Biology 210, 3179-3187 (2007)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2007
doi: 10.1242/jeb.002394
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Serotonin and nitric oxide interaction in the control of bioluminescence in northern krill, Meganyctiphanes norvegica (M. Sars)

Jenny Krönström1,*, Samuel Dupont2, Jerome Mallefet3, Michael Thorndyke2 and Susanne Holmgren1

1 Department of Zoophysiology, Göteborg University, Box 463, SE 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden
2 Kristineberg Marine Research Station, SE 450 34 Fiskebäckskil, Sweden
3 Lab Marine Biology, Catholic University of Louvain, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

* Author for correspondence (e-mail: jenny.kronstrom{at}zool.gu.se)

Accepted 28 June 2007

The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the control of bioluminescence (light production) in the crustacean Meganyctiphanes norvegica (krill) was investigated using pharmacological and immunohistochemical methods. All nitrergic drugs tested failed to induce bioluminescence per se but modulated light production stimulated by 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). NO donors [sodium nitroprusside (SNP) and S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP)] injected in live specimens significantly reduced light production stimulated by 5-HT, whereas inhibition of the enzyme NO synthase (NOS) with L-NAME (NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester) resulted in an enhancement of the 5-HT response. The effects of NO do not seem to be mediated via production of cGMP as injections of a cGMP analogue (8-Bromoguanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate) gave inconclusive effects on the 5-HT-stimulated light response. Inhibition of cGMP production with ODQ (1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one) did not affect the light response. Moreover, a few individuals showed a considerably higher response to 5-HT in April and June compared with specimens collected in the autumn and winter. Furthermore, both NOS-like and 5-HT-like materials were detected by immunohistochemistry inside the light organs. NOS-like immunoreactivity was primarily observed in structures associated with vessels inside the light organs, whereas 5-HT-like material was abundant in nerve fibres throughout the whole light organ. The results suggest that NO has a modulatory role at several levels in the control of light production in M. norvegica and that NO and 5-HT interact in this regulation.

Key words: bioluminescence, 5-HT, Meganyctiphanes norvegica, nitric oxide, nitric oxide synthase, krill


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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2007