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Immunolocalization of a Gαq protein to the chemosensory organs of Dipolydora quadrilobata (Polychaeta: Spionidae)

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Abstract

Chemoreception in marine invertebrates mediates a variety of ecologically important behaviors including defense, reproduction, larval settlement and recruitment, and feeding. The sensory pathways that regulate deposit-feeding activity by polychaetes living in sedimentary habitats are of particular interest because such feeding has profound effects on the physical and chemical properties of the habitat. Nevertheless, little is known concerning the molecular mechanisms of chemical signal transduction associated with deposit feeding and other behaviors in polychaetes. Chemosensory-based feeding behaviors are typically regulated by G-protein-coupled signal transduction pathways. However, the presence and role of such pathways have not been demonstrated in marine polychaetes. Methodologies involving degenerate primer-based reverse transcription with the polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends were used to identify and characterize a Gαq subunit expressed in the feeding palps of the spionid polychaete Dipolydora quadrilobata. The D. quadrilobata Gαq protein had high sequence similarity with previously reported Gαq subunits from both invertebrate and vertebrate taxa. Immunhistochemistry and immunocytochemistry were used with confocal laser scanning microscopy and transmission electron microscopy to visualize the distribution of a Gαq antibody in whole worms and in cilia of the feeding palps. Gαq immunoreactivity was concentrated in the nuchal organs, food-groove cilia, and lateral/abfrontal cilia of the feeding palps. Because these structures are known to be involved in chemoreception, we propose that Gαq isolated from D. quadrilobata is a key component of chemosensory signal transduction pathways in this species.

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Acknowledgments

This research built on previous work by several talented graduate and undergraduate students studying various aspects of chemoreception and the biology of spionid polychaetes including Tim Riordan, David (Skip) Forest, Jennifer Jackson, Kristen Tomlinson, and Matthew Babineau. We also appreciate the capable laboratory and field assistance provided by Si Qing He and Toni Lombardi. We thank Kelly Edwards for facilitating the TEM and confocal microscopy work at the Electron Microscopy Laboratory, University of Maine, and Larry Mayer and Bob Gundersen for helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469-5751, USA

    Marlene S. Tsie, Paul D. Rawson & Sara M. Lindsay

  2. University of Maine, 5751 Murray Hall, Orono, ME 04469, USA

    Sara M. Lindsay

Authors
  1. Marlene S. Tsie
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  2. Paul D. Rawson
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  3. Sara M. Lindsay
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sara M. Lindsay.

Additional information

Portions of this research were submitted by Marlene Tsie to the University of Maine in partial fulfillment for the requirements for an M.S. degree in Marine Biology. This research was funded by NSF grant OCE-0221229 to Sara Lindsay and Paul Rawson.

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Tsie, M.S., Rawson, P.D. & Lindsay, S.M. Immunolocalization of a Gαq protein to the chemosensory organs of Dipolydora quadrilobata (Polychaeta: Spionidae). Cell Tissue Res 333, 469–480 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-008-0660-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00441-008-0660-2

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