LOCALIZATION OF THE EXPRESSION OF GONADOTROPIN-RELEASING HORMONE LIKE-MOLECULE IN A GASTROPOD MOLLUSK, APLYSIA CALIFORNICA.

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event LOCALIZATION OF THE EXPRESSION OF GONADOTROPIN-RELEASING HORMONE LIKE-MOLECULE IN A GASTROPOD MOLLUSK, APLYSIA CALIFORNICA. Lisa H. Jung1*, Scott I. Kavanaugh1 and Pei-San Tsai1 1 University of Colorado at Boulder, Integrative Physiology, United States Gonadotropin- releasing hormone (GnRH) is a key neuropeptide for regulating reproduction in vertebrates. The recent discoveries of GnRH-like molecules in non-chordate animals suggested GnRH may have arisen in an ancestral bilaterian that gave rise to both protostomes and deuterostomes. Our laboratory has previously isolated a full-length cDNA of a GnRH-like molecule, named ap-GnRH, from a gastropod mollusk, Aplysia californica. Immunocytochemistry revealed the presence of neurons positive for ap-GnRH in only 2 central ganglia, the pedal and cerebral ganglia, of A. californica, but a specific radioimmunoassay revealed that all 5 central ganglia contained immunodetectable ap-GnRH, leading to some confusion regarding the source of this peptide. The goal of the present study is to localize ap-GnRH transcript in central and peripheral tissues of A. californica by in situ hybridization (ISH). Using a 604 nt-cRNA probe, we detected the strong presence of ap-GnRH transcript in neurons of the pedal ganglia. In addition, many positive neurons were localized in the cerebral ganglia, followed by 1-4 neurons in the abdominal ganglia. No staining was observed in the remaining central ganglia (buccal and pleural ganglia) or in the peripheral tissues (the ovotestis and atrial gland). These data are largely consistent with our previous immunocytochemical data and support the presence of both ap-GnRH peptide and transcript in the pedal and cerebral ganglia. However, the presence of ap-GnRH mRNA in the abdominal ganglia suggests transcriptional activity also occurs in these ganglia. As such, our inability to detect abdominal ap-GnRH immunoreactive neurons may reflect either alternative processing or exceptionally fast turnover of the peptide in these ganglia. Overall, our data suggest that ap-GnRH is produced by multiple ganglia and support the notion that ap-GnRH may assume functions beyond reproduction. (Supported by NSF IOS 0743818 to PST) Keywords: ap-GnRH transcript, Aplysia Californica, evolution, gonadotropin-releasing hormone like-molecule Conference: NASCE 2011: The inaugural meeting of the North American Society for Comparative Endocrinology, Ann Arbor, United States, 13 Jul - 16 Jul, 2011. Presentation Type: Poster Topic: General neuroendocrinology Citation: Jung LH, Kavanaugh SI and Tsai P (2011). LOCALIZATION OF THE EXPRESSION OF GONADOTROPIN-RELEASING HORMONE LIKE-MOLECULE IN A GASTROPOD MOLLUSK, APLYSIA CALIFORNICA.. Front. Endocrinol. Conference Abstract: NASCE 2011: The inaugural meeting of the North American Society for Comparative Endocrinology. doi: 10.3389/conf.fendo.2011.04.00150 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 18 Jul 2011; Published Online: 09 Aug 2011. * Correspondence: Miss. Lisa H Jung, University of Colorado at Boulder, Integrative Physiology, Boulder, Colorado, 80309, United States, lisa.jung@colorado.edu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Lisa H Jung Scott I Kavanaugh Pei-San Tsai Google Lisa H Jung Scott I Kavanaugh Pei-San Tsai Google Scholar Lisa H Jung Scott I Kavanaugh Pei-San Tsai PubMed Lisa H Jung Scott I Kavanaugh Pei-San Tsai Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.