(Santa Barbara, Calif.) What good is half an eye? Evolutionary biologists studying the origins of vision get that question a lot, and new research out of UC Santa Barbara points to a possible answer. Findings appearing today in the journal BMC Biology indicate that, even in the absence of eyes altogether, some creatures display a light-sensitivity that uses the same visual pathway that allows humans to see.
Todd Oakley, professor in UCSB's Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, co-authored the paper about the genetic behavior of hydra, a freshwater polyp. Along with jellyfish, sea anemones, and corals, hydra are part of the animal family Cnidaria, who use stinging cells, or cnidocytes, to catch prey. Hydra tentacles contain barbed, poison-containing cnidocytes that they use to stun animals, such as water fleas and plankton, before eating them alive. They also use their cnidocytes for self-defense and locomotion.
The research conducted at UCSB revealed that light, or the lack thereof, has a direct effect on hydras' propensity to fire their stinging cells a discovery Oakley said "tells us something completely new about the biology of these animals, and we think this could extend to other cnidarians."
"Hydra stinging cells were already known to be touch sensitive and taste sensitive, but no one had ever thought before to look for light sensitivity probably because they don't have eyes," Oakley said. "We're the first to have found that. And we found not only that light-sensitivity genes are expressed near hydra stinging cells, but that under different light conditions, these cells have different propensities to be fired."
Studying the hydra in both bright and dim conditions, the researchers discovered that bright light actually inhibits the firing of the stinging cells possibly because their prey are more active at dusk and after sunset, said Oakley. He suggested that light could be acting as "a
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| Contact: Shelly Leachman shelly.leachman@ia.ucsb.edu 805-893-8726 University of California - Santa Barbara Source:Eurekalert |
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