Light modulated cnidocyte discharge predates the origins of eyes in Cnidaria

Picciani, Natasha, Kerlin, Jamie R., Jindrich, Katia, Hensley, Nicholai M., Gold, David A. and Oakley, Todd H. 2021. Light modulated cnidocyte discharge predates the origins of eyes in Cnidaria. Ecology and Evolution 11 (9) , pp. 3933-3940. 10.1002/ece3.7280

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (783kB)

Abstract

Complex biological traits often originate by integrating previously separate parts, but the organismal functions of these precursors are challenging to infer. If we can understand the ancestral functions of these precursors, it could help explain how they persisted and how they facilitated the origins of complex traits. Animal eyes are some of the best studied complex traits, and they include many parts, such as opsin-based photoreceptor cells, pigment cells, and lens cells. Eye evolution is understood through conceptual models that argue these parts gradually came together to support increasingly sophisticated visual functions. Despite the well-accepted logic of these conceptual models, explicit comparative studies to identify organismal functions of eye precursors are lacking. Here, we investigate how precursors functioned before they became part of eyes in Cnidaria, a group formed by sea anemones, corals, and jellyfish. Specifically, we test whether ancestral photoreceptor cells regulated the discharge of cnidocytes, the expensive single-use cells with various functions including prey capture, locomotion, and protection. Similar to a previous study of Hydra, we show an additional four distantly related cnidarian groups discharge significantly more cnidocytes when exposed to dim blue light compared with bright blue light. Our comparative analyses support the hypothesis that the cnidarian ancestor was capable of modulating cnidocyte discharge with light, which we speculate uses an opsin-based phototransduction pathway homologous to that previously described in Hydra. Although eye precursors might have had other functions like regulating timing of spawning, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that photoreceptor cells which mediate cnidocyte discharge predated eyes, perhaps facilitating the prolific origination of eyes in Cnidaria.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Publisher:	Wiley Open Access
ISSN:	2045-7758
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	2 August 2021
Date of Acceptance:	20 January 2021
Last Modified:	10 May 2023 06:53
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/143099

Citation Data

Cited 2 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item