Newly identified water-borne protein pheromones interact with attractin to stimulate mate attraction in Aplysia

Cummins, Scott F.; Nichols, Amy E.; Schein, Catherine H.; Nagle, Gregg T.

doi:10.1016/j.peptides.2005.08.026

Cited by 35 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Chemical attraction of prey animals to food, for example, is suppressed in the presence of predator odor (Lima and Dill, 1990;Gillette et al, 2000). By contrast, adult male attraction is amplified significantly by release of a pheromone mixture (as compared to single compounds) from a sexually receptive female (Cardé et al, 1975;Murlis et al, 1992;Cummins et al, 2006). Consequently, animal perception of chemosensory cues is a function of ecological context (Zimmer-Faust, 1987;Zimmer-Faust, 1993;Ziesmann, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The scent of danger: arginine as an olfactory cue of reduced predation risk

Ferrer

Zimmer

2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARY Animal perception of chemosensory cues is a function of ecological context. Larvae of the California newt (Taricha torosa), for example, exhibit predator-avoidance behavior in response to a chemical from cannibalistic adults. The poison tetrodotoxin (TTX), well known as an adult chemical defense, stimulates larval escape to refuges. Although they are cannibals,adult newts feed preferentially on worms (Eisenia rosea) over conspecific young. Hence, larval avoidance reactions to TTX are suppressed in the presence of odor from these alternative prey. The free amino acid,arginine, is abundant in fluids emitted by injured worms. Here, we demonstrate that arginine is a natural suppressant of TTX-stimulated larval escape behavior. Compared to a tapwater control, larvae initiated vigorous swimming in response to 10–7 mol l–1 TTX. This excitatory response was eliminated when larval nasal cavities were blocked with an inert gel, but not when gel was placed on the forehead (control). In additional trials, a binary mixture of arginine and 10–7 mol l–1 TTX failed to induce larval swimming. The inhibitory effect of arginine was, however, dose dependent. An arginine concentration as low as 0.3-times that of TTX was significantly suppressant. Further analysis showed that suppression by arginine of TTX-stimulated behavior was eliminated by altering the positively-charged guanidinium moiety, but not by modifying the carbon chain, carboxyl group, or amine group. These results are best explained by a mechanism of competitive inhibition between arginine and TTX for common, olfactory receptor binding sites. Although arginine alone has no impact on larval behavior, it nevertheless signals active adult predation on alternative prey, and hence, reduced cannibalism risk.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The scent of danger: arginine as an olfactory cue of reduced predation risk

Ferrer

Zimmer

2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…These factors thus suggest that mollusks may have developed defense strategies to protect themselves from exposure to a high density of microorganisms, including potential pathogens. The use of secondary metabolites is well documented in the phylum Mollusca as part of their communication systems (22)(23)(24), predatory behavior (25,26), and defensive secretions (27)(28)(29)(30). The abundance, diversity, and chemical potential of mollusks make this phylum of interest for studies of microbial symbiosis.…”

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confidence: 99%

Characterization of the Bacterial Community of the Chemically Defended Hawaiian Sacoglossan Elysia rufescens

Davis

Fricke

Hamann

et al. 2013

Appl Environ Microbiol

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dSacoglossans are characterized by the ability to sequester functional chloroplasts from their algal diet through a process called kleptoplasty, enabling them to photosynthesize. The bacterial diversity associated with sacoglossans is not well understood. In this study, we coupled traditional cultivation-based methods with 454 pyrosequencing to examine the bacterial communities of the chemically defended Hawaiian sacoglossan Elysia rufescens and its secreted mucus. E. rufescens contains a defense molecule, kahalalide F, that is possibly of bacterial origin and is of interest because of its antifungal and anticancer properties. Our results showed that there is a diverse bacterial assemblage associated with E. rufescens and its mucus, with secreted mucus harboring higher bacterial richness than entire-E. rufescens samples. The most-abundant bacterial groups affiliated with E. rufescens and its mucus are Mycoplasma spp. and Vibrio spp., respectively. Our analyses revealed that the Vibrio spp. that were highly represented in the cultivable assemblage were also abundant in the culture-independent community. Epifluorescence microscopy and matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) were utilized to detect the chemical defense molecule kahalalide F on a longitudinal section of the sacoglossan.

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“…The characterization of attractin and other related proteins (enticin, temptin, seduction, Alb-1, etc.) purified from the eluates of A. californica egg cordons suggested that they may act synergistically during egg-laying (Cummins et al, 2006;Cummins et al, 2010). An attractin-like pheromone was also identified in the mucus-secreting hypobranchial gland of the abalone Haliotis asinina (Kuanpradit et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sperm-attractant peptide influences the spermatozoa swimming behavior in internal fertilization in Octopus vulgaris

Lisa

Salzano

Moccia

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYMarine invertebrates exhibit both chemokinesis and chemotaxis phenomena, induced in most cases by the release of water-borne peptides or pheromones. In mollusks, several peptides released during egg-laying improve both male attraction and mating. Unlike other cephalopods, Octopus vulgaris adopts an indirect internal fertilization strategy. We here report on the identification and characterization of a chemoattractant peptide isolated from mature eggs of octopus females. Using two-chamber and timelapse microscopy assays, we demonstrate that this bioactive peptide is able to increase sperm motility and induce chemotaxis by changing the octopus spermatozoa swimming behavior in a dose-dependent manner. We also provide evidence that chemotaxis in the octopus requires the presence of extracellular calcium and membrane protein phophorylation at tyrosine. This study is the first report on a sperm-activating factor in a non-free-spawning marine animal.

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Newly identified water-borne protein pheromones interact with attractin to stimulate mate attraction in Aplysia

Cited by 35 publications

References 53 publications

The scent of danger: arginine as an olfactory cue of reduced predation risk

The scent of danger: arginine as an olfactory cue of reduced predation risk

Characterization of the Bacterial Community of the Chemically Defended Hawaiian Sacoglossan Elysia rufescens

Sperm-attractant peptide influences the spermatozoa swimming behavior in internal fertilization in Octopus vulgaris

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