Coordination of locomotor and cardiorespiratory networks of Lymnaea stagnalis by a pair of identified interneurones

1991 ◽  
Vol 158 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. I. Syed ◽  
W. Winlow

1. The morphology and electrophysiology of a newly identified bilateral pair of interneurones in the central nervous system of the pulmonate pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis is described. 2. These interneurones, identified as left and right pedal dorsal 11 (L/RPeD11), are electrically coupled to each other as well as to a large number of foot and body wall motoneurones, forming a fast-acting neural network which coordinates the activities of foot and body wall muscles. 3. The left and right sides of the body wall of Lymnaea are innervated by left and right cerebral A cluster neurones. Although these motoneurones have only ipsilateral projections, they are indirectly electrically coupled to their contralateral homologues via their connections with L/RPeD11. Similarly, the activities of left and right pedal G cluster neurones, which are known to be involved in locomotion, are also coordinated by L/RPeD11. 4. Selective ablation of both neurones PeD11 results in the loss of coordination between the bilateral cerebral A clusters. 5. Interneurones L/RPeD11 are multifunctional. In addition to coordinating motoneuronal activity, they make chemical excitatory connections with heart motoneurones. They also synapse upon respiratory motoneurones, hyperpolarizing those involved in pneumostome opening (expiration) and depolarizing those involved in pneumostome closure (inspiration). 6. An identified respiratory interneurone involved in pneumostome closure (visceral dorsal 4) inhibits L/RPeD11 together with all their electrically coupled follower cells. 7. Both L/RPeD11 have strong excitatory effects on another pair of electrically coupled neurones, visceral dorsal 1 and right parietal dorsal 2, which have previously been shown to be sensitive to changes in the partial pressure of environmental oxygen (PO2). 8. Although L/RPeD11 participate in whole-body withdrawal responses, electrical stimulation applied directly to these neurones was not sufficient to induce this behaviour.

1960 ◽  
Vol s3-101 (54) ◽  
pp. 149-176
Author(s):  
R. B. CLARK ◽  
M. E. CLARK

Nephtys lacks circular body-wall muscles. The chief antagonists of the longitudinal muscles are the dorso-ventral muscles of the intersegmental body-wall. The worm is restrained from widening when either set of muscles contracts by the combined influence of the ligaments, some of the extrinsic parapodial muscles, and possibly, to a limited extent, by the septal muscles. Although the septa are incomplete, they can and do form a barrier to the transmission of coelomic fluid from one segment to the next under certain conditions, particularly during eversion of the proboscis. Swimming is by undulatory movements of the body but the distal part of the parapodia execute a power-stroke produced chiefly by the contraction of the acicular muscles. It is suspected that the extrinsic parapodial muscles, all of which are inserted in the proximal half of the parapodium, serve to anchor the parapodial wall at the insertion of the acicular muscles and help to provide a rigid point of insertion for them. Burrowing is a cyclical process involving the violent eversion of the proboscis which makes a cavity in the sand. The worm is prevented from slipping backwards by the grip the widest segments have on the sides of the burrow. The proboscis is retracted and the worm crawls forward into the cavity it has made. The cycle is then repeated. Nephtys possesses a unique system of elastic ligaments of unusual structure. The anatomy of the system is described. The function of the ligaments appears to be to restrain the body-wall and parapodia from unnecessary and disadvantageous dilatations during changes of body-shape, and to serve as shock-absorbers against the high, transient, fluid pressures in the coelom, which are thought to accompany the impact of the proboscis against the sand when the worm is burrowing. From what is known of its habits, Nephtys is likely to undertake more burrowing than most other polychaetes.


1979 ◽  
Vol 82 (1) ◽  
pp. 273-280
Author(s):  
B. S. WONG ◽  
DONALD M. MILLER ◽  
T. T. DUNAGAN

Body wall muscles of an acanthocephalan Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus were studied by means of scanning and light microscopy and intracellular recording of potentials. Three types of spontaneous potential changes were found: larger (L) potentials which usually exhibited overshoot and were as large as 65 mV; smaller symmetric (A) potentials approximately 15 mV in amplitude; and even smaller asymmetric (S) potentials which sometimes reached 10 mV. The potentials recorded depended upon the position of the electrode in the anterior-posterior, as well as the medialateral, axis. Tetrodotoxin eliminated L but not S potentials. Ouabain lengthened the time for depolarization of L potentials and depolarized the membrane potentials. It is suggested that the rete system activates the body wall muscles in Acanthocephala.


Development ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 667-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.Y. Goh ◽  
T. Bogaert

As part of a general study of genes specifying a pattern of muscle attachments, we identified and genetically characterised mutants in the mup-1 gene. The body wall muscles of early stage mup-1 embryos have a wild-type myofilament pattern but may extend ectopic processes. Later in embryogenesis, some body wall muscles detach from the hypodermis. Genetic analysis suggests that mup-1 has both a maternal and a zygotic component and is not required for postembryonic muscle growth and attachment. mup-1 mutants are suppressed by mutations in several genes that encode extracellular matrix components. We propose that mup-1 may encode a cell surface/extracellular matrix molecule required both for the positioning of body wall muscle attachments in early embryogenesis and the subsequent maintenance of these attachments to the hypodermis until after cuticle synthesis.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 885-888 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon P. Gerry ◽  
David J. Ellerby

The body wall muscles of sanguivorous leeches power mechanically diverse behaviours: suction feeding, crawling and swimming. These require longitudinal muscle to exert force over an extremely large length range, from 145 to 46 per cent of the mean segmental swimming length. Previous data, however, suggest that leech body wall muscle has limited capacity for force production when elongated. Serotonin (5-HT) alters the passive properties of the body wall and stimulates feeding. We hypothesized that 5-HT may also have a role in allowing force production in elongated muscle by changing the shape of the length–tension relationship (LTR). LTRs were measured from longitudinal muscle strips in vitro in physiological saline with and without the presence of 10 µM 5-HT. The LTR was much broader than previously measured for leech muscle. Rather than shifting the LTR, 5-HT reduced passive muscle tonus and increased active stress at all lengths. In addition to modulating leech behaviour and passive mechanical properties, 5-HT probably enhances muscle force and work production during locomotion and feeding.


1991 ◽  
Vol 279 (3) ◽  
pp. 837-842 ◽  
Author(s):  
P L Hordijk ◽  
H D F H Schallig ◽  
R H M Ebberink ◽  
M de Jong-Brink ◽  
J Joosse

In the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis infected with the schistosome parasite Trichobilharzia ocellata, a peptide called schistosomin is released from the central nervous system, which counteracts the bioactivity of a number of gonadotropic hormones. This leads to inhibition of the reproductive activities of the infected snail. In order to determine the structure of schistosomin, the neuropeptide was purified from the central nervous system using gel-permeation chromatography and reverse-phase h.p.l.c. The complete primary structure of the peptide was determined by N-terminal sequencing and peptide mapping. Schistosomin is a single-chain molecule of 79 amino acids with a molecular mass of 8738 Da. The peptide contains eight cysteine residues which may give rise to four intramolecular disulphide bridges that fold the peptide into a stable globular structure. A database search did not reveal any known peptides that show significant sequence similarity to schistosomin. By means of immunocytochemistry, the peptide was shown to be localized in the growth-controlling neurosecretory light green cells, which are located in the cerebral ganglia of the central nervous system of Lymnaea. In addition to schistosomin, these neurons are known to produce various insulin-related peptides.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brittany A. Mersman ◽  
Sonia N. Jolly ◽  
Zhenguo Lin ◽  
Fenglian Xu

AbstractConnections between neurons called synapses are the key components underlying all nervous system functions of animals and humans. However, important genetic information on the formation and plasticity of one type, the electrical (gap junction-mediated) synapse, is severely understudied, especially in invertebrates. In the present study, we set forth to identify and characterize the gap junction-encoding gene innexin in the central nervous system (CNS) of the mollusc pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis (L. stagnalis). With PCR, 3’ and 5’ RACE, and BLAST searches, we identified eight innexin genes in the L. stagnalis nervous system named Lst Inx1-8. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the L. stagnalis innexin genes originated from a single copy in the common ancestor of molluscan species by multiple gene duplication events and have been maintained in L. stagnalis since they were generated. The paralogous innexin genes demonstrate distinct expression patterns among tissues. In addition, one paralog, Lst Inx1, exhibits heterogeneity in cells and ganglia, suggesting the occurrence of functional diversification after gene duplication. These results introduce possibilities to study an intriguing potential relationship between innexin paralog expression and cell-specific functional outputs such as heterogenic ability to form channels and exhibit synapse plasticity. The L. stagnalis CNS contains large neurons and a functionally defined network for behaviors; with the introduction of L. stagnalis in the gap junction field, we are providing novel opportunities to combine genetic research with direct investigation of functional outcomes at the cellular, synaptic, and behavioral levels.Summary StatementBy characterizing the gap junction gene innexin in Lymnaea stagnalis, we open opportunities for novel studies on the regulation, plasticity, and evolutionary function of electrical synapses throughout the animal kingdom.


1937 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-301
Author(s):  
G. P. WELLS

1. The gut of Glycera consists of (a) the buccal tube, (b) the pharynx, containing the jaws with their associated muscles and glands and the principal stomatogastric ganglia, (c) the oesophagus, leading from the pharynx to (d) the intestine, in which digestion occurs. 2. An "isolated extrovert" preparation is described, consisting of the buccal tube, pharynx and oesophagus. The movements of the buccal tube and oesophagus are recorded separately. The preparation has the following properties: (a) The buccal tube shows vigorous, rapid contractions with a somewhat irregular rhythm. These contractions are due to impulses coming forwards from the pharynx, the buccal tube itself having little power of spontaneous movement. (b) The oesophagus shows tone-waves, on which more rapid contractions of small amplitude may be superposed. These contractions and tone-waves are due to impulses originating in the wall of the oesophagus itself. (c) In a few preparations only, synchronous movements of buccal tube and oesophagus were seen. The site of origin of this synchronous activity was not determined. 3. An "extrovert-body wall" preparation is described, in which the movements of the body wall and buccal tube are separately recorded while the normal nervous conduction paths between them remain intact. The preparation has the following properties: (a) In most cases the body wall shows slight movements only, and the buccal tube moves little or not at all. If, however, the buccal tube be cut across close to the mouth, it begins an irregular rhythm of vigorous contractions, due to impulses originating in the pharynx, which usually continues without diminution for hours. The quiescence of the buccal tube before this cut is made indicates that the central nervous system normally exerts an inhibitory influence on the pharynx. (b) In a few preparations, correlated outbursts of contraction in the body wall and buccal tube were seen. These outbursts, which possibly correspond to extrusion movements of the intact worm, are due to impulses originating in the central nervous system. 4. The results are compared with those previously obtained on Arenicola marina, and reported in an earlier paper.


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