Melatonin signaling controls circadian swimming behavior in marine zooplankton

• Verfasst von: Tosches, Maria Antonietta [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Bucher, Daniel [VerfasserIn]
• Verfasst von: Arendt, Detlev [VerfasserIn]
• Titel: Melatonin signaling controls circadian swimming behavior in marine zooplankton
• Verf.angabe: Maria Antonietta Tosches, Daniel Bucher, Pavel Vopalensky, and Detlev Arendt
• E-Jahr: 2014
• Jahr: September 25, 2014
• Umfang: 12 S.
• Fussnoten: Gesehen am 05.05.2017
• Titel Quelle: Enthalten in: Cell
• Ort Quelle: [Cambridge, Mass.] : Cell Press, 1974
• Jahr Quelle: 2014
• Band/Heft Quelle: 159(2014), 1, Seite 46-57
• ISSN Quelle: 1097-4172
• DOI: doi:10.1016/j.cell.2014.07.042
• Datenträger: Online-Ressource
• Sprache: eng
• K10plus-PPN: 1558047913

Abstract

Summary Melatonin, the “hormone of darkness,” is a key regulator of vertebrate circadian physiology and behavior. Despite its ubiquitous presence in Metazoa, the function of melatonin signaling outside vertebrates is poorly understood. Here, we investigate the effect of melatonin signaling on circadian swimming behavior in a zooplankton model, the marine annelid Platynereis dumerilii. We find that melatonin is produced in brain photoreceptors with a vertebrate-type opsin-based phototransduction cascade and a light-entrained clock. Melatonin released at night induces rhythmic burst firing of cholinergic neurons that innervate locomotor-ciliated cells. This establishes a nocturnal behavioral state by modulating the length and the frequency of ciliary arrests. Based on our findings, we propose that melatonin signaling plays a role in the circadian control of ciliary swimming to adjust the vertical position of zooplankton in response to ambient light.