Physiological properties of the penis retractor muscle of <i>Aplysia</i>

Blankenship, James E.; Rock, Michael K.; Hill, John C.

doi:10.1002/neu.480080605

Cited by 23 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 36 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This, therefore, calls for a new nomenclature in which all preputium muscle bands are called retractors. The terminology for basommatophoran pulmonates then comes into agreement with the nomenclature in brackish water, marine and terrestrial molluscs (Berry et al, 1967;Blankenship et al, 1977;Gittenberger, 1979;Wabnitz, 1976). We further propose, at least for L. stagnalis, to divide the preputium muscle bands into either a distal and proximal group, both on the dorsal and ventral side (Fig.1).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“…Paraense and Pointier, 2003;Paraense, 2006), while for brackish water, marine and terrestrial molluscs only retractor muscles have been described (e.g. Berry et al, 1967;Blankenship et al, 1977;Gittenberger, 1979;Jaeger, 1963;Wabnitz, 1976). Is this a fundamental difference between these different species of simultaneous hermaphrodites or simply a misconception?…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The distinction between retractor and protractor muscles of the freshwater snail's male organ has no physiological basis

Boer¹,

Jansen²,

Maat

et al. 2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SUMMARYMany animals are equipped with organs that can be everted, a notable example being male copulatory organs. The ability to protrude or evert an organ generally requires protractor and retractor muscles. Male copulatory behaviour of the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis (L.) involves eversion (protraction) and retraction of the relatively large penis-carrying organ. For this preputium, protractor and retractor muscle bands have been defined, which implies eversion and retraction through the activity of these muscle bands. However, no physiological data are available that confirm that the terms protractor and retractor are appropriate. To test whether eversion and retraction are possible without protractor and/or retractor muscle bands, lesion experiments were performed. The results show that with either one or several muscle bands lesioned, snails were still capable of everting their preputium and using it for copulation. However, the majority of animals that had six or more muscle bands lesioned were unable to retract its preputium. Hence, retractor muscle bands serve their designated function whereas protractor muscle bands do not. We therefore suggest that a different terminology is used in which all muscle bands are retractors and, based on their location, are either called distal or proximal retractors. The findings furthermore indicate that the preputium muscle bands are normally contracted, possibly in a catch state, retaining the organ inside without high-energy expenditure.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The distinction between retractor and protractor muscles of the freshwater snail's male organ has no physiological basis

Boer¹,

Jansen²,

Maat

et al. 2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Spontaneous or induced IJPs have been reported in some Aplysia muscles; the gill muscle (Carew et al 1974;Kurokawa and Kuwasawa 1988), the penis muscle (Blankenship et al 1977), and the buccal muscle (Banks 1975). Among them, the neuron producing IJPs has been identified only by Banks (1975Banks ( , 1978 in the buccal ganglion of A. californica.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Innervation of buccal muscles by multifunctional MA1 neurons in Aplysia kurodai

Nagahama

Takata

1990

J Comp Physiol A

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. Spikes in Aplysia MA1 neurons produced excitatory (EJPs), inhibitory (IJPs), and diphasic inhibitory-excitatory junction potentials in different fibers of the buccal muscles.2. The IJPs following the MA1 spikes were recorded in the muscle fibers innervated by the jaw-closing motoneurons. The depolarization of muscle fibers produced by the motoneurons was largely suppressed by simultaneous MA1 firing, suggesting that the MA1 neurons make a direct connection to a part of the muscle fibers innervated by these motoneurons and inhibit them.3. The excitatory and inhibitory components of the junction potentials produced by MA1 were reversibly blocked by hexamethonium and d-tubocurarine, respectively. In contrast, the EJPs produced by the jaw-closing motoneurons were blocked by an amino acid antagonist, suggesting that the MA1 neurons and the jaw-closing motoneurons use different transmitters in the nervemuscle junctions.4. The jaw movement produced by the jaw-closing motoneurons was suppressed by simultaneous MA1 firing, and the suppression was released by d-tubocurarine, suggesting that the IJPs produced by MA1 may contribute to the suppression of jaw movement. The firing of MA1 produced the vertical movement of the buccal muscles, which was blocked by hexamethonium, suggesting that the EJPs produced by MA1 may contribute to the vertical movement.

show abstract

“…11A-H) Aplysia is a hermaphrodite containing both male and female reproductive organs (Blankenship et al, 1977;Kandel, 1979;Painter et al, 1985). In the male reproductive system, the penis is housed inside the animal, but is everted during copulation.…”

Section: Circulatory and Respiratory Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

TheAplysia MytilusInhibitory Peptide-Related Peptides: Identification, Cloning, Processing, Distribution, and Action

et al. 1999

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Neuropeptides are a ubiquitous class of signaling molecules. In our attempt to understand the generation of feeding behavior in Aplysia, we have sought to identify and fully characterize the neuropeptides operating in this system. Preliminary evidence indicated that Mytilus inhibitory peptide (MIP)-like peptides are present and operating in the circuitry that generates feeding in Aplysia. MIPs were originally isolated from the bivalve mollusc Mytilus edulis, and related peptides have been identified in other invertebrate species, but no precursor has been identified. In this study, we describe the isolation and characterization of novel Aplysia MIP-related peptides (AMRPs) and their precursor. Several AMRPs appear to have some structural and functional features similar to vertebrate opioid peptides. We use matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry to confirm that all 14 AMRPs predicted by the precursor are processed in isolated neurons. Northern analysis, whole-mount in situ hybridization, and immunohistochemistry are used to map the abundant expression of these peptides in the CNS and peripheral tissues such as the digestive tract, vasculature, and the reproductive organs. Physiological studies demonstrate that the rank order of the inhibitory actions of these peptides is different for three target muscles. These results underscore the importance of using a multidisciplinary approach to identifying and characterizing the actions of neuropeptides in an effort to gain understanding of their role in systems of interest. The widespread distribution of the AMRPs indicates that they may be operating in many different systems of Aplysia.

show abstract

Physiological properties of the penis retractor muscle of Aplysia

Cited by 23 publications

References 36 publications

The distinction between retractor and protractor muscles of the freshwater snail's male organ has no physiological basis

The distinction between retractor and protractor muscles of the freshwater snail's male organ has no physiological basis

Innervation of buccal muscles by multifunctional MA1 neurons in Aplysia kurodai

TheAplysia MytilusInhibitory Peptide-Related Peptides: Identification, Cloning, Processing, Distribution, and Action

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About