HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (7) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Carpizo-Ituarte, E. Articles by Hadfield, M. G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Carpizo-Ituarte, E. Articles by Hadfield, M. G. Related Collections Development Annelids Larval Biology

Transcription and Translation Inhibitors Permit Metamorphosis up to Radiole Formation in the Serpulid Polychaete Hydroides elegans Haswell

Kewalo Marine Laboratory and Department of Zoology, University of Hawaii, 41 Ahui St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ecarpizo{at}uabc.mx

Settlement and metamorphosis in most well-studied marine invertebrates are rapid processes, triggered by external cues. How this initial environmentally mediated response is transduced into morphogenetic events that culminate in the formation of a functional juvenile is still not well understood for any marine invertebrate. The response of larvae of the serpulid polychaete Hydroides elegans to inhibitors of mRNA and protein synthesis was examined to determine if metamorphosis requires these molecular processes. Competent larvae of H. elegans were induced to metamorphose by exposing them to a bacterial film or a 3-h pulse of 10 mM CsCl in the presence of the gene-transcription inhibitor DRB (5,6-dichloro-1-ß-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole) or the translation inhibitor emetine. When induced to metamorphose in the presence of either inhibitor, larvae of H. elegans progressed through metamorphosis to the point at which branchial radioles start to develop. DRB and emetine inhibited the incorporation of radiolabeled uridine into RNA and radiolabeled methionine into peptides, respectively, indicating that they were effective in blocking the appropriate syntheses. Taken together, these results indicate that the induction of metamorphosis in H. elegans does not require de novo transcription or translation, and that the form of the juvenile worm is achieved in two phases. During the first phase, larvae respond to the inducer by attaching to the substratum, secreting a primary tube, resorbing the prototroch cilia, undergoing caudal elongation, and differentiating the collar; once the collar is formed, they begin secreting the secondary, calcified tube. During the second phase, the small worm develops branchial radioles and begins to grow, requiring new mRNA and protein syntheses.

Abbreviations: DRB, 5,6-dichloro-1-ß-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. Arenas-Mena Indirect development, transdifferentiation and the macroregulatory evolution of metazoans Phil Trans R Soc B, February 27, 2010; 365(1540): 653 - 669. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. W. Jacobs, S. M. Degnan, R. Woods, E. Williams, K. E. Roper, K. Green, and B. M. Degnan The effect of larval age on morphology and gene expression during ascidian metamorphosis Integr. Comp. Biol., December 1, 2006; 46(6): 760 - 776. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]