Cnidocyte discharge is regulated by light and opsin-mediated phototransduction.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Cnidocytes, the eponymous cell type of the Cnidaria, facilitate both sensory and secretory functions and are among the most complex animal cell types known. In addition to their structural complexity, cnidocytes display complex sensory attributes, integrating both chemical and mechanical cues from the environment into their discharge behavior. Despite more than a century of work aimed at understanding the sensory biology of cnidocytes, the specific sensory receptor genes that regulate their function remain unknown.

Results

Here we report that light also regulates cnidocyte function. We show that non-cnidocyte neurons located in battery complexes of the freshwater polyp Hydra magnipapillata specifically express opsin, cyclic nucleotide gated (CNG) ion channel and a

SUBMITTER: Plachetzki DC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3329406 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature