Egg laying in pulmonate snails is a well orchestrated process that involves a period of reduced locomotion, followed by substrate cleaning with rhythmic rasping of the surface to make tiny grooves, into which eggs are deposited. While the neurohormonal control of initiating egg-laying has been well established, the signals that modulate the buccal central pattern generator to substrate cleaning during egg-laying are not known. Neuropeptides of the invertebrate Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone/Corazonin family (invGnRH/CRZ) have been shown to be involved in reproduction and allied behaviors in many vertebrates and invertebrates. Here we show that the buccal motor pattern underlying substrate cleaning during egg-laying is altered by a vetebrate GnRH-agonist. Signals from the intestinal nerve innervating reproductive structures, previously shown to be both necessary and sufficient for egg-laying behaviors, are blocked by a vertebrate GnRH-antagonist. Further, the vertebrate GnRH triggered response elicits rhythmic, phase 2 and non-phase 2 activity in the buccal motor pattern, with a shut down of phase 3, indicative of repetitive rasping without accompanied swallowing behavior. Using immunohistochemistry, intracellular electrophysiology and extracellular nerve stimulation, we show that a member of the invGnRH/CRZ-family of neuropeptides could be the signal that contextually switches the multifunctional buccal CPG to a biphasic rasping rhythm that underlies substrate cleaning behavior during egg-laying in pulmonate snail Planorbella (Helisoma) trivolvis.
Peptidergic modulation of a multi-functional central pattern generator in the pulmonate snail
2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize shortlist and winner
The JEB Editors are delighted to announce the shortlisted authors for the 2023 JEB Outstanding Paper Prize. Read the winning paper - Tiny spies: mosquito antennae are sensitive sensors for eavesdropping on frog calls - by Hoover Pantoja-Sanchez and Brian Leavell from Ximena Bernal's lab at Purdue University, USA.
JEB Science Communication Workshop for ECRs
If you’re an early-career researcher interested in science communication and are attending the SEB Annual Conference in Prague this summer, come a day early and join the JEB Editors at a sci comm workshop to learn the key writing skills needed to promote your research to a broad audience beyond your peers (1 July at 14.30-17.30). Places are limited to 24 attendees, and applicants should apply through the SEB registration page by 30 April 2024.
Bridging the gap between controlled conditions and natural habitats in understanding behaviour
Novel technologies enable behavioural experiments with non-model species, in naturalistic habitats and with underexplored behaviours. In their Commentary, Scholz and colleagues discuss how to obtain a deeper understanding of the natural ecology and lifestyle of study animals.
How a macrourid fish remains buoyant at depths it should be unable to reach
Fish with swimbladders should not be capable of descending below 7200m, but when Alan Jamieson and Todd Bond spotted a macrourid fish at 7259m, they knew they had seen something miraculous. Working with Imantes Priede, they reveal that the swimbladder of a 1 kg fish could hold 37.9 g of oxygen, sufficient to offset the weight of the fish's bones, and take 221-440 days to fill, which is plausible because it takes years for the fish to descend to such depths.
ECR Workshop on Positive Peer Review
Are you an ECR looking for tips on how to write concise, astute and useful manuscript reviews? If so, join the JEB Editors at a 2-hour JEB-sponsored Workshop on Positive Peer Review at the Canadian Society of Zoologists annual meeting in Moncton on 9 May 2024 at 13.00-15.00. There are 25 spaces for ECRs and selection is first come, first serve. To sign up, check the ECR Workshop box when you register for the CSZ meeting.
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