Involvement of RFamide neuropeptides in polyp contraction of the adult scleractinian corals Euphyllia ancora and Stylophora pistillata

Yan Zhang; Shinya Shikina; Yu-Ying Ho; Yi-Ling Chiu; Jack I-Chen Yao; Céline Zatylny-Gaudin; Sylvie Dufour; Ching-Fong Chang

doi:10.1016/j.ygcen.2021.113905

Involvement of RFamide neuropeptides in polyp contraction of the adult scleractinian corals Euphyllia ancora and Stylophora pistillata

Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2021 Dec 1:314:113905. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2021.113905. Epub 2021 Sep 15.

Authors

Yan Zhang¹, Shinya Shikina², Yu-Ying Ho³, Yi-Ling Chiu⁴, Jack I-Chen Yao³, Céline Zatylny-Gaudin⁵, Sylvie Dufour⁵, Ching-Fong Chang⁶

Affiliations

¹ Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan; Zhejiang Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Zhejiang, China; Marine and Fishery Research Institute, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhejiang, China.
² Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan; Institute of Marine Environment and Ecology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan. Electronic address: shikina@mail.ntou.edu.tw.
³ Department of Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan.
⁴ Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Chiba, Japan.
⁵ Laboratory Biology of Aquatic Organisms and Ecosystems (BOREA), University of Caen-Normandy, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, CNRS, IRD, Sorbonne Université, Université des Antilles, 14032, Caen, France and 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
⁶ Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan; Department of Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan. Electronic address: B0044@email.ntou.edu.tw.

PMID: 34534544
DOI: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2021.113905

Abstract

The distribution and functions of neurons in scleractinian corals remain largely unknown. This study focused on the Arg-Phe amide family of neuropeptides (RFamides), which have been shown to be involved in a variety of biological processes in animals, and performed molecular identification and characterization in the adult scleractinian coral Euphyllia ancora. The deduced amino acid sequence of the identified RFamide preprohormone was predicted to contain 20 potential neuropeptides, including 1 Pro-Gly-Arg-Phe (PGRF) amide and 15 Gln-Gly-Arg-Phe (QGRF) amide peptides. Tissue distribution analysis showed that the level of transcripts in the tentacles was significantly higher than that in other polyp tissues. Immunohistochemical analysis with the FMRFamide antibody showed that RFamide neurons were mainly distributed in the epidermis of the tentacles and mouth with pharynx. Treatment of E. ancora polyps with synthetic QGRFamide peptides induced polyp contraction. The induction of polyp contraction by QGRFamide peptide treatment was also observed in another scleractinian coral, Stylophora pistillata. These results strongly suggested that RFamides play a role in the regulation of polyp contraction in adult scleractinians.

Keywords: Euphyllia ancora; Neuropeptides; Polyp contraction; RFamide; Scleractinian corals.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Amino Acid Sequence
Animals
Anthozoa*
FMRFamide
Neuropeptides* / metabolism

Substances

Neuropeptides
arginylphenylalaninamide
FMRFamide