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Duchatelet L, Coubris C, Pels C, Dupont ST, Mallefet J. Catecholamine Involvement in the Bioluminescence Control of Two Species of Anthozoans. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:1798. [PMID: 37763202 PMCID: PMC10533100 DOI: 10.3390/life13091798] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Bioluminescence, the ability of living organisms to emit visible light, is an important ecological feature for many marine species. To fulfil the ecological role (defence, offence, or communication), bioluminescence needs to be finely controlled. While many benthic anthozoans are luminous, the physiological control of light emission has only been investigated in the sea pansy, Renilla koellikeri. Through pharmacological investigations, a nervous catecholaminergic bioluminescence control was demonstrated for the common sea pen, Pennatula phosphorea, and the tall sea pen, Funiculina quadrangularis. Results highlight the involvement of adrenaline as the main neuroeffector triggering clusters of luminescent flashes. While noradrenaline and octopamine elicit flashes in P. phosphorea, these two biogenic amines do not trigger significant light production in F. quadrangularis. All these neurotransmitters act on both the endodermal photocytes located at the base and crown of autozooids and specific chambers of water-pumping siphonozooids. Combined with previous data on R. koellikeri, our results suggest that a catecholaminergic control mechanisms of bioluminescence may be conserved in Anthozoans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Duchatelet
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; (C.C.); (C.P.); (J.M.)
| | - Constance Coubris
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; (C.C.); (C.P.); (J.M.)
| | - Christopher Pels
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; (C.C.); (C.P.); (J.M.)
| | - Sam T. Dupont
- Department of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, 451 78 Fiskebäckskil, Sweden;
- Marine Environment Laboratories, International Atomic Energy Agency, MC-98000 Monaco, Monaco
| | - Jérôme Mallefet
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium; (C.C.); (C.P.); (J.M.)
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Mullan R, Davis AD, Sutton TT, Johnsen S. An Investigation into the Mechanism Mediating Counterillumination in Myctophid Fishes (Myctophidae). THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2023; 244:63-69. [PMID: 37167619 DOI: 10.1086/724803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
AbstractCounterillumination is a camouflage strategy employed primarily by mesopelagic fishes, sharks, crustaceans, and squid, which use ventral bioluminescence to obscure their silhouettes when viewed from below. Although certain counterilluminating species have been shown to control the intensity of their ventral emissions to match the background downwelling light, the feedback mechanism mediating this ability is poorly understood. One proposed mechanism involves the presence and use of eye-facing photophores that would allow simultaneous detection and comparison of photophore emissions and downwelling solar light. Eye-facing photophores have been found in at least 34 species of counterilluminating stomiiform fishes and the myctophid Tarletonbeania crenularis. Here, we examined nine phylogenetically spaced myctophid species for eye-facing photophores to assess whether this mechanism is as prevalent in this group as it is in the Stomiiformes. First, microcomputed tomography imaging data were collected for each species, and three-dimensional reconstructions of the fishes were developed to identify potential eye-facing photophores. The fishes were then dissected under a stereomicroscope to confirm the presence of all identified photophores, probe for any photophores missed in the reconstruction analysis, and determine the orientation of the photophores' emissions. Although photophores were identified near the orbits of all species examined, none of the fishes' photophores directed light into their orbits, suggesting that myctophids may regulate bioluminescence through an alternative mechanism.
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Duchatelet L, Delroisse J, Mallefet J. Bioluminescence in lanternsharks: Insight from hormone receptor localization. Gen Comp Endocrinol 2020; 294:113488. [PMID: 32272132 DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2020.113488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 04/04/2020] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
As part of the study of their bioluminescence, the deep-sea lanternshark Etmopterus spinax and Etmopterus molleri (Chondrichthyes, Etmopteridae) received growing interest over the past ten years. These mesopelagic sharks produce light thanks to a finely tuned hormonal control involving melatonin, adrenocorticotropic hormone and α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone. Receptors of these hormones, respectively the melatonin receptors and the melanocortin receptors, are all members of the G-protein coupled receptor family i.e. coupled with specific G proteins involved in the preliminary steps of their transduction pathways. The present study highlights the specific localization of the hormonal receptors, as well as of their associated G-proteins within the light organs, the so-called photophores, in E. spinax and E. molleri through immunohistofluorescence technic. Our results allow gaining insight into the molecular actors and mechanisms involved in the control of the light emission in Etmopterid sharks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Duchatelet
- Université catholique de Louvain - UCLouvain, Earth and Life Institute, Marine Biology Laboratory, Croix du Sud 3, 1348 Louvain-La Neuve, Belgium.
| | - Jérôme Delroisse
- University of Mons - UMONS, Research Institute for Biosciences, Biology of Marine Organisms and Biomimetics, Avenue du Champs de Mars 6, 7000 Mons, Belgium
| | - Jérôme Mallefet
- Université catholique de Louvain - UCLouvain, Earth and Life Institute, Marine Biology Laboratory, Croix du Sud 3, 1348 Louvain-La Neuve, Belgium
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Davis AL, Sutton TT, Kier WM, Johnsen S. Evidence that eye-facing photophores serve as a reference for counterillumination in an order of deep-sea fishes. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20192918. [PMID: 32517614 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.2918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Counterillumination, the masking of an animal's silhouette with ventral photophores, is found in a number of mesopelagic taxa but is difficult to employ because it requires that the animal match the intensity of downwelling light without seeing its own ventral photophores. It has been proposed that the myctophid, Tarletonbeania crenularis, uses a photophore directed towards the eye, termed an eye-facing photophore, as a reference standard that it adjusts to match downwelling light. The potential use of this mechanism, however, has not been evaluated in other fishes. Here, we use micro-computed tomography, photography and dissection to evaluate the presence/absence of eye-facing photophores in three families of stomiiform fishes. We found that all sampled species with ventral photophores capable of counterillumination possess an eye-facing photophore that is pigmented on the anterior and lateral sides, thus preventing its use as a laterally directed signal, lure or searchlight. The two species that are incapable of counterillumination, Cyclothone obscura and Sigmops bathyphilus, lack an eye-facing photophore. After determining the phylogenetic distribution of eye-facing photophores, we used histology to examine the morphology of the cranial tissue in Argyropelecus aculeatus and determined that light from the eye-facing photophore passes through a transparent layer of tissue, then the lens, and finally strikes the accessory retina. Additionally, eight of the 14 species for which fresh specimens were available had an aphakic gap that aligned with the path of emitted light from the eye-facing photophore, while the remaining six had no aphakic gap. These findings, combined with records of eye-facing photophores from distantly related taxa, strongly suggest that eye-facing photophores serve as a reference for counterillumination in these fishes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tracey T Sutton
- Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Nova Southeastern University, Dania Beach, FL 33004, USA
| | - William M Kier
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
| | - Sönke Johnsen
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
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Duchatelet L, Delroisse J, Pinte N, Sato K, Ho HC, Mallefet J. Adrenocorticotropic Hormone and Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate are Involved in the Control of Shark Bioluminescence. Photochem Photobiol 2019; 96:37-45. [PMID: 31441051 DOI: 10.1111/php.13154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Among Etmopteridae and Dalatiidae, luminous species use hormonal control to regulate bioluminescence. Melatonin (MT) triggers light emission and, conversely, alpha melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) actively reduces ongoing luminescence. Prolactin (PRL) acts differentially, triggering light emission in Etmopteridae and inhibiting it in Dalatiidae. Interestingly, these hormones are also known as regulators of skin pigment movements in vertebrates. One other hormone, the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), also members of the skin pigmentation regulators, is here pharmacologically tested on the light emission. Results show that ACTH inhibits luminescence in both families. Moreover, as MT and α-MSH/ACTH receptors are members of the G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) family, we investigated the effect of hormonal treatments on the cAMP level of photophores through specific cAMP assays. Our results highlight the involvement of ACTH and cAMP in the control of light emission in sharks and suggest a functional similarity between skin pigment migration and luminescence control, this latter being mediated by pigment movements in the light organ-associated iris-like structure cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Duchatelet
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Jérôme Delroisse
- Research Institute for Biosciences, Biology of Marine Organisms and Biomimetics, University of Mons, Mons, Belgium
| | - Nicolas Pinte
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
| | - Keiichi Sato
- Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Motobu-cho, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan
| | - Hsuan-Ching Ho
- National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Checheng, Pingtung, Taiwan
| | - Jérôme Mallefet
- Marine Biology Laboratory, Earth and Life Institute, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium
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Mallefet J, Duchatelet L, Hermans C, Baguet F. Luminescence control of Stomiidae photophores. Acta Histochem 2019; 121:7-15. [PMID: 30322809 DOI: 10.1016/j.acthis.2018.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2018] [Revised: 10/01/2018] [Accepted: 10/02/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Nervous control of light emission from deep-sea mesopelagic fishes has been documented for several species. Studies on the nervous control of photophores from deep-sea luminescent fish, are mainly restricted to a pharmacological approach. For example, the light organs, called photophores, isolated from Argyropelecus hemygimnus and Maurolicus muelleri show a much higher sensitivity to adrenaline than to noradrenaline. According to these results and other information in different species, catecholamines are considered as main neurotransmitters triggering bioluminescence in deep-sea fishes. The present work is a study of the nervous control of the isolated photophores from two Stomiid fishes, Chauliodus sloani (the viperfish) and Stomias boa (the dragonfish) with the aim to determine the nature of the nervous control by pharmacological, biochemical and morphological approaches. Results show that, although the photophores of both species are sensitive to catecholamines, adrenaline is present in larger amount than noradrenaline in the light organs of C. sloani. Both catecholamines have different immunoreactive (IR) sites, noradrenaline showing a very diffuse localization as compared to adrenaline in C. sloani. On the contrary, only adrenaline is detected in the photocytes chamber and nerves innervating the photophore in S. boa. Knowing that the majority of dragonfishes exhibit a luminescent chin barbel, we also investigated the presence of catecholamines in this specific tissue in S. boa. Immunohistology reveals the presence of adrenaline within the tissue forming the chin barbel; adrenaline-IR is found in the connective tissue surroundings two group of muscle fibers and blood vessels in the stem but also around the multiple blood vessels located within the barbel bulb. Our results strongly support the adrenergic control of light emission in bioluminescent stomiid fishes.
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Davis MP, Sparks JS, Smith WL. Repeated and Widespread Evolution of Bioluminescence in Marine Fishes. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0155154. [PMID: 27276229 PMCID: PMC4898709 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2015] [Accepted: 04/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Bioluminescence is primarily a marine phenomenon with 80% of metazoan bioluminescent genera occurring in the world's oceans. Here we show that bioluminescence has evolved repeatedly and is phylogenetically widespread across ray-finned fishes. We recover 27 independent evolutionary events of bioluminescence, all among marine fish lineages. This finding indicates that bioluminescence has evolved many more times than previously hypothesized across fishes and the tree of life. Our exploration of the macroevolutionary patterns of bioluminescent lineages indicates that the present day diversity of some inshore and deep-sea bioluminescent fish lineages that use bioluminescence for communication, feeding, and reproduction exhibit exceptional species richness given clade age. We show that exceptional species richness occurs particularly in deep-sea fishes with intrinsic bioluminescent systems and both shallow water and deep-sea lineages with luminescent systems used for communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew P. Davis
- St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN 56301, United States of America
| | - John S. Sparks
- American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024, United States of America
| | - W. Leo Smith
- University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS 66045, United States of America
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Ghedotti MJ, Barton RW, Simons AM, Davis MP. The first report of luminescent liver tissue in fishes: Evolution and structure of bioluminescent organs in the deep-sea naked barracudinas (Aulopiformes: Lestidiidae). J Morphol 2014; 276:310-8. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2014] [Revised: 10/18/2014] [Accepted: 11/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Ryan W. Barton
- Department of Biology; Regis University; Denver Colorado 80221
| | - Andrew M. Simons
- Department of Fisheries; Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota; St. Paul Minnesota
| | - Matthew P. Davis
- Department of Biological Sciences; St. Cloud State University; St. Cloud Minnesota
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Davis MP, Holcroft NI, Wiley EO, Sparks JS, Leo Smith W. Species-specific bioluminescence facilitates speciation in the deep sea. MARINE BIOLOGY 2014; 161:1139-1148. [PMID: 24771948 PMCID: PMC3996283 DOI: 10.1007/s00227-014-2406-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2013] [Accepted: 02/05/2014] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
The vast darkness of the deep sea is an environment with few obvious genetic isolating barriers, and little is known regarding the macroevolutionary processes that have shaped present-day biodiversity in this habitat. Bioluminescence, the production and emission of light from a living organism through a chemical reaction, is thought to occur in approximately 80 % of the eukaryotic life that inhabits the deep sea (water depth greater than 200 m). In this study, we show, for the first time, that deep-sea fishes that possess species-specific bioluminescent structures (e.g., lanternfishes, dragonfishes) are diversifying into new species at a more rapid rate than deep-sea fishes that utilize bioluminescence in ways that would not promote isolation of populations (e.g., camouflage, predation). This work adds to our understanding of how life thrives and evolution shaped present-day biodiversity in the deep sea, the largest and arguably least explored habitat on earth.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - John S. Sparks
- American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY 10024 USA
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Claes JM, Krönström J, Holmgren S, Mallefet J. GABA inhibition of luminescence from lantern shark (Etmopterus spinax) photophores. Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol 2011; 153:231-6. [PMID: 21070868 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbpc.2010.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2010] [Revised: 11/01/2010] [Accepted: 11/01/2010] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Photogenic organs (photophores) of the velvet belly lantern shark (Etmopterus spinax) are under hormonal control, since melatonin (MT) and prolactin (PRL) trigger luminescence while α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) prevents this light to be emitted. A recent study supported, however, the presence of numerous nerve fibres in the photogenic tissue of this shark. Immunohistochemical and pharmacological results collected in this work support these nerve fibres to be inhibitory GABAergic nerves since (i) GABA immunoreactivity was detected inside the photogenic tissue, where previous labelling detected the nerve fibre structures and (ii) GABA was able to inhibit MT and PRL-induced luminescence, which was on the other hand increased by the GABA(A) antagonist bicuculline (BICU). In addition, we also demonstrated that BICU can induce light per se by provoking pigment retraction in the pigmented cells composing the iris-like structure of the photophore, attaining, however, only about 10% of hormonally induced luminescence intensity at 10(-3)mol L(-1). This strongly supports that a GABA inhibitory tonus controls photophore "aperture" in the photogenic tissue of E. spinax but also that MT and PRL have more than one target cell type in the photophores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien M Claes
- Laboratoire de Biologie Marine, Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, 3 Place Croix du Sud, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
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