First published online April 23, 2004
Journal of Experimental Biology 207, 1803-1810 (2004)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2004
doi: 10.1242/jeb.00974
Control of planula migration by LWamide and RFamide neuropeptides in Hydractinia echinata
Yuki Katsukura1,*,
Hiroshi Ando2,
Charles N. David3,
Cornelis J. P. Grimmelikhuijzen4 and
Tsutomu Sugiyama1,
1 Ishinomaki Senshu University, Ishinomaki 986-8580, Japan
2 Hachinohe Institute of Technology, Hachinohe 031-8501, Japan
3 Zoological Institute, University of Munich, 80333 Munich,
Germany
4 Zoological Institute, Department of Cell Biology, University of
Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark

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Fig. 1. Planula migration. Images of a single planula larva migrating toward light
were captured at the rate of 1 image per 30 s and superimposed to create one
figure. Note that the specimen oriented the blunt end of its spindle-shaped
body toward light and that contraction and relaxation of tissue along the body
axis accompanied migration. The specimen shown was migrating faster (1.2 mm
min-1) than average (0.3 mm min-1, see
Fig. 5C) thus facilitating
visualization of changes in shape and position during migration. Scale bar, 1
mm.
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Fig. 2. Migration tracks of planula larvae in (A) normal seawater, (B) seawater
containing 10-8 mol l-1 He-LWamide II, or (C) seawater
containing 10-7 mol l-1 Hydra-RFamide I. The three
tracks shown were obtained from independent experiments, but are shown
together to aid comparison. The rectangular box surrounding the tracks
represents the spectrophotometer cell with 30 mm light path and 10 mm width
that was used as a container to observe planula migration.
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Fig. 3. Actogram of migration for planula larva in (A) normal seawater, (B)
seawater containing 10-8 mol l-1 He-LWamide II, or (C)
seawater containing 10-7 mol l-1 Hydra-RFamide I. The
time of observation is plotted against step length (distance moved between two
frames: 30 s).
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Fig. 4. Effect of He-LWamide II and Hydra-RFamide I on track length. Peptide
concentration is plotted against the distance migrated during 1 h (track
length). Values shown are means + S.E.M. Asterisks indicate results
that are significantly different from the control values (shown in the
far-left column in each panel) (t-test;
*P<0.05, **0.01). Sample size was minimally
50.
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Fig. 5. Effect of various concentrations of He-LWamide II and Hydra-RFamide I on
three parameters of migration: the number of active periods per hour (A,D,G),
the length of active periods (B,E,H), and the speed of migration during active
periods (C,F,I). Asterisks indicate results that are significantly different
from the control values (shown in the far-left column in each panel)
(t-test; *P<0.05, **0.01). Sample
size was minimally 50.
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© The Company of Biologists Ltd 2004