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GABA and glutamate specifically induce contractions in the sponge Tethya wilhelma

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Abstract

Sponges (Porifera) are nerve- and muscleless. Nevertheless, they react to external stimuli in a coordinated way, by body contraction, oscule closure or stopping pumping activity. The underlying mechanisms are still unknown, but evidence has been found for chemical messenger-based systems. We used the sponge Tethya wilhelma to test the effect of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate (l-Glu) on its contraction behaviour. Minimal activating concentrations were found to be 0.5 μM (GABA) and 50 μM (l-Glu), respectively. Taking maximum relative contraction speed and minimal relative projected body area as a measure of the sponge’s response, a comparison of the dose–response curves indicated a higher sensitivity of the contractile tissue for GABA than for l-Glu. The concentrations eliciting the same contractile response differ by about 100-fold more than the entire concentration range tested. In addition, desensitising effects and spasm-like reactions were observed. Presumably, a GABA/l-Glu metabotropic receptor-based system is involved in the regulation of contraction in T. wilhelma. We discuss a coordination system for sponges based on hypothetical chemical messenger pathways.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

A r max :

Maximum relative projected area

A r min :

Minimal relative projected area

A r :

Relative projected area

ΔA r :

Change of relative projected area

c s :

Substance concentration

GABA:

γ-Aminobutyric acid

GABAAR, GABACR:

Ionotropic GABA receptors

GABABR:

Metabotropic GABA receptor

iGluR:

Ionotropic l-Glu receptors

l-Glu:

l-Glutamic acid

LSD:

Least significant difference

mGluR:

Metabotropic l-Glu receptor

P C :

Contracted phase

P E :

Expanded phase

v :

Contraction speed

v C max :

Maximum relative contraction speed

v E max :

Maximum relative speed of expansion

v i max :

Maximum induced relative contraction speed

ΔpH:

pH-shift

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Hans-Dieter Görtz and Franz Brümmer for their support of our research, Isabel Koch and Kai-Uwe Genzel for providing and maintaining sponges in the zoological Garden Wilhelma, Wolfgang Hauber for discussion on experimental design, Birgit Nickel and Markus Götz for discussion of results, Isabel Heim and Carsten Wolf for technical assistance with the aquarium. Our work was partly supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the project Center of Excellence BIOTECmarin (F 0345D), by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts of the State of Baden-Württemberg and the University of Stuttgart. The experiments conducted herein comply with the current laws of Germany where they were performed.

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  1. Department of Zoology, Biological Institute, University of Stuttgart, 70550, Stuttgart, Germany

    Kornelia Ellwanger, Andre Eich & Michael Nickel

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  1. Kornelia Ellwanger
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  2. Andre Eich
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  3. Michael Nickel
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Correspondence to Michael Nickel.

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K. Ellwanger and A. Eich contributed equally and designed and performed experiments, analysed data and revised the paper, M. Nickel designed the study and experiments, analysed data, prepared the figures, wrote and revised the paper.

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Ellwanger, K., Eich, A. & Nickel, M. GABA and glutamate specifically induce contractions in the sponge Tethya wilhelma . J Comp Physiol A 193, 1–11 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00359-006-0165-y

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