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| Home > Publications database > Morphological and physiological aspects of movement and contractility in Trichoplax adhaerens (Placozoa) |
| Home > Publications database > Morphological and physiological aspects of movement and contractility in Trichoplax adhaerens (Placozoa) |
| Poster | PUBDB-2017-08103 |
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2011
Abstract: The Placozoa represent one of the early metazoan branches and are of interest for comparative studieson several evolutionary aspects in the Metazoa. Despite of the relatively simple placozoan morphology,many functional aspects remain partly or completely unknown. One example is the movementand contractile behaviour of Trichoplax adhaerens which has been partly addressed phenomenologicallyand morphologically. However, it still remains unclear whether the fibre syncytium is thesole contractile effector or if the upper or lower epithelia are involved in body shape changes. Additionally,the regulation of the movement behaviour is almost completely unknown. Our project aimed attesting whether glutamate and gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) is involved in regulation of movementbehaviour in Placozoa, comparatively supplementing previous studies in sponges. For this study,we quantitatively analyzed the movement of T. adhaerens (Strain Grell-MSF-1993) under the influenceof glutamate and GABA using digital time-lapse recording. In addition, we aimed at testing the hypotheseson the contractile effector cell type. For this study we performed real time video microscopyas well as morphological studies using light microscopy, DIC, SEM and TEM. In the physiological assay,T. adhaerens significantly changed movement behaviour under the influence of GABA and glutamate.Animals showed typical feeding behaviour (periodical start-stop-movements) despite of thelack of food sources. Our results suggest that a metabotrophic glutamate receptor (gene present in thegenome of T. adhaerens) is involved in the regulation of feeding-related movement behaviour. Ourmorphological studies provided evidence that the upper epithelium is involved in body contractility, too,implying consequences for our understanding of early evolution of contractile cells in the Metazoa.
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