Coordinated Feeding Behavior in Trichoplax, an Animal without Synapses

Trichoplax is a small disk-shaped marine metazoan that adheres to substrates and locomotes by ciliary gliding. Despite having only six cell types and lacking synapses Trichoplax coordinates a complex sequence of behaviors culminating in external digestion of algae. We combine live cell imaging with...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2015-09, Vol.10 (9), p.e0136098-e0136098
Main Authors: Smith, Carolyn L, Pivovarova, Natalia, Reese, Thomas S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Algae
Animal behavior
Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
Animals
Behavior
Biology
Cell interactions
Cellular communication
Chlorophyta - physiology
Cilia
Cilia - physiology
Cilia - ultrastructure
Cnidaria
Ctenophora
Dietary fiber
Electron microscopy
Feeding Behavior
Feeding methods
Food
Genomes
Gliding
Granular materials
Granules
Motility
Movement
Neuropeptides
Physiological aspects
Placozoa
Placozoa - physiology
Placozoa - ultrastructure
Rhabdocalyptus dawsoni
Rhodophyta - physiology
Secretion
Substrates
Synapses
Trichoplax
Trichoplax adhaerens
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Trichoplax is a small disk-shaped marine metazoan that adheres to substrates and locomotes by ciliary gliding. Despite having only six cell types and lacking synapses Trichoplax coordinates a complex sequence of behaviors culminating in external digestion of algae. We combine live cell imaging with electron microscopy to show how this is accomplished. When Trichoplax glides over a patch of algae, its cilia stop beating so it ceases moving. A subset of one of the cell types, lipophils, simultaneously secretes granules whose content rapidly lyses algae. This secretion is accurately targeted, as only lipophils located near algae release granules. The animal pauses while the algal content is ingested, and then resumes gliding. Global control of gliding is coordinated with precise local control of lipophil secretion suggesting the presence of mechanisms for cellular communication and integration.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0136098