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The Biological Bulletin, Vol 194, Issue 1 83-91, Copyright © 1998 by Marine Biological Laboratory

PHYSIOLOGY

Chemical Fate of a Metamorphic Inducer in Larvae-like Buds of the Cnidarian Cassiopea andromeda

J. Fleck
Lehrstuhl fur Spezielle Zoologie, Ruhr-Universitat Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany

Larvae-like vegetative buds of the scyphozoan Cassiopea andromeda metamorphose into polyps in the presence of oligopeptides that have a well-defined primary structure. Buds were incubated with the hexapeptide 14C-dansyl-GPGGPA, a representative inducer. Autoradiography of longitudinal sections of these buds revealed rapid internalization of peptide by the buds. Silver grain density was highest in the pre-pedal disc region (or aboral knob) of metamorphosing buds. Larvae and buds sporadically explore their habitat with this aboral knob, searching for a suitable solid substrate to which irreversible attachment will be made. Buds were incubated for 3, 8, or 16 h with 14C-dansyl-GPGGPA, then homogenized and the supernatants analyzed to determine the chemical fate of the inducer. The signal molecule was shown to be partly degraded to 14C-dansyl-GP, partly to 14C-dansyl-G, and in part still present in its original structure. These cleavage products were also found in the surrounding medium after an incubation time of 8 h with 14C-dansyl-GPGGPA, but did not induce metamorphosis. This study suggests that exposure of metamorphosis-inducing peptides to buds of Cassiopea andromeda results in signal termination.


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Role of Protein Kinase C, G-Protein Coupled Receptors, and Calcium Flux During Metamorphosis of the Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
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