Dataset Information

Dominant gingers - Discovery and inheritance of a new shell polymorphism in the great pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis.

ABSTRACT: Color polymorphism is a classic study system for evolutionary genetics. One of the most color-polymorphic animal taxa is mollusks, but the investigation of the genetic basis of color determination is often hindered by their life history and the limited availability of genetic resources. Here, we report on the discovery of shell color polymorphism in a much-used model species, the great pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. While their shell is usually beige, some individuals from a Greek population show a distinct red shell color, which we nicknamed Ginger. Moreover, we found that the inheritance fits simple, single-locus Mendelian inheritance with dominance of the Ginger allele. We also compared crucial life-history traits between Ginger and wild-type individuals, and found no differences between morphs. We conclude that the relative simplicity of this polymorphism will provide new opportunities for a deeper understanding of the genetic basis of shell color polymorphism and its evolutionary origin.

SUBMITTER: Ledder M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10701294 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Dominant gingers - Discovery and inheritance of a new shell polymorphism in the great pond snail <i>Lymnaea stagnalis</i>.

Ledder Matthijs M Nakadera Yumi Y Staikou Alexandra A Koene Joris M JM

Ecology and evolution 20231206 12

Color polymorphism is a classic study system for evolutionary genetics. One of the most color-polymorphic animal taxa is mollusks, but the investigation of the genetic basis of color determination is often hindered by their life history and the limited availability of genetic resources. Here, we report on the discovery of shell color polymorphism in a much-used model species, the great pond snail <i>Lymnaea stagnalis</i>. While their shell is usually beige, some individuals from a Greek populati ...[more]

PMID: 38077508

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Project description:Rhogocytes, also termed "pore cells", occur as solitary or clustered cells in the connective tissue of gastropod molluscs. Rhogocytes possess an enveloping lamina of extracellular matrix and enigmatic extracellular lacunae bridged by cytoplasmic bars that form 20 nm diaphragmatic slits likely to act as a molecular sieve. Recent papers highlight the embryogenesis and ultrastructure of these cells, and their role in heavy metal detoxification. Rhogocytes are the site of hemocyanin or hemoglobin biosynthesis in gastropods. Based on electron microscopy, we recently proposed a possible pathway of hemoglobin exocytosis through the slit apparatus, and provided molecular evidence of a common phylogenetic origin of molluscan rhogocytes, insect nephrocytes and vertebrate podocytes. However, the previously proposed secretion mode of the respiratory proteins into the hemolymph is still rather hypothetical, and the possible role of rhogocytes in detoxification requires additional data. Although our previous study on rhogocytes of the red-blooded (hemoglobin-containing) freshwater snail Biomphalaria glabrata provided much new information, a disadvantage was that the hemoglobin molecules were not unequivocally defined in the electron microscope. This made it difficult to trace the exocytosis pathway of this protein. Therefore, we have now performed a similar study on the rhogocytes of the blue-blooded (hemocyanin-containing) freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis. The intracellular hemocyanin could be identified in the electron microscope, either as individual molecules or as pseudo-crystalline arrays. Based on 3D-electron microscopy, and supplemented by in situ hybridization, immunocytochemistry and stress response experiments, we provide here additional details on the structure and hemocyanin biosynthesis of rhogocytes, and on their response in animals under cadmium and starvation stress. Moreover, we present an advanced model on the release of synthesized hemocyanin molecules through the slit apparatus into the hemolymph, and the uptake of much smaller particles such as cadmium ions from the hemolymph through the slit apparatus into the cytoplasm.

Project description:The presence of oral contraceptives (basically applying estrogens and/or progestogens) poses a challenge to animals living in aquatic ecosystems and reflects a rapidly growing concern worldwide. However, there is still a lack in knowledge about the behavioural effects induced by progestogens on the non-target species including molluscs. In the present study, environmental progestogen concentrations were summarised. Knowing this data, we exposed a well-established invertebrate model species, the great pond snail (Lymnaea stagnalis) to relevant equi-concentrations (1, 10, 100, and 500 ng L-1) of mixtures of four progestogens (progesterone, drospirenone, gestodene, levonorgestrel) for 21 days. Significant alterations were observed in the embryonic development time, heart rate, feeding, and gliding activities of the embryos as well as in the feeding and locomotion activity of the adult specimens. All of the mixtures accelerated the embryonic development time and the gliding activity. Furthermore, the 10, 100, and 500 ng L-1 mixtures increased the heart rate and feeding activity of the embryos. The 10, 100, and 500 ng L-1 mixtures affected the feeding activity as well as the 1, 10, and 100 ng L-1 mixtures influenced the locomotion of the adult specimens. The differences of these adult behaviours showed a biphasic response to the progestogen exposure; however, they changed approximately in the opposite way. In case of feeding activity, this dose-response phenomenon can be identified as a hormesis response. Based on the authors' best knowledge, this is the first study to investigate the non-reproductive effects of progestogens occurring also in the environment on molluscan species. Our findings contribute to the global understanding of the effects of human progestogens, as these potential disruptors can influence the behavioural activities of non-target aquatic species. Future research should aim to understand the potential mechanisms (e.g., receptors, signal pathways) of progestogens induced behavioural alterations.

Dataset Information

Dominant gingers - Discovery and inheritance of a new shell polymorphism in the great pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis.

Publications

Dominant gingers - Discovery and inheritance of a new shell polymorphism in the great pond snail <i>Lymnaea stagnalis</i>.

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