Age and Serotonin Effects on Locomotion in Marine Trematode Cercariae

OO Tolstenkov, VV Prokofiev, MV Pleskacheva, Margaretha Gustafsson, MI Zhukovskaya

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The effect of serotonin solutions on the locomotor activity of cercariae with different swimming patterns, Cryptocotyle lingua and Himasthla elongate, was investigated during their lifespan using motion track analysis and a frame-by-frame count of behavioral elements. Serotonin caused a noticeable alteration of several locomotion parameters in both species studied, while the activity per se decreased significantly with age. In intermittently swimming C. lingua cercariae, serotonin induced an increase in the frequency of active swimming phases (spurts) without significant changes in the duration and velocity of the spurts themselves. In continuously swimming H. elongata cercariae, serotonin increased the number of stops during the first hour after the emission from the host mollusk under a constant average swimming velocity. Immunocytochemical visualization of serotonin revealed a decline in its level with age (time after emission) and different dynamics of this process in neurons located in the tail and body of C. lingua cercariae. The data are interpreted in the light of the modulatory role of serotonin known for other animals.
Original languageUndefined/Unknown
Pages (from-to)135–142
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Evolutionary Biochemistry and Physiology / Zhurnal Evolyutsionnoi Biokhimii i Fiziologii
Volume53
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2017
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • flatworms
  • cercaria
  • nervous system
  • Locomotion

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