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Science 24 March 1989:
Vol. 243. no. 4898, pp. 1589 - 1591
DOI: 10.1126/science.2564698
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Articles

Science, Vol 243, Issue 4898, 1589-1591
Copyright © 1989 by American Association for the Advancement of Science

articles

Cnidocyte mechanoreceptors are tuned to the movements of swimming prey by chemoreceptors

GM Watson and DA Hessinger

Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Loma Linda University, CA 92350.

Cnidocytes, the stinging cells of cnidarians, discharge nematocysts in response to physical contact accompanied by the stimulation of specific chemoreceptors. Cnidocytes in fishing tentacles of a sea anemone are now found to discharge nematocysts preferentially into targets vibrating at 30, 55, and 65 to 75 hertz. Moreover, in the presence of submicromolar concentrations of known chemosensitizers, such as N-acetylated sugars and mucin, these optima shift to 5, 15, 30, and 40 hertz, frequencies that correspond to the movements of swimming prey. Hence, chemoreceptors for these substances tune cnidocyte mechanoreceptors to frequencies that match the movements of the prey.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
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N-Acetylneuraminic Acid (NANA) Stimulates in situ cyclic AMP Production in Tentacles of Sea Anemone (Aiptasia pallida): Possible Role in Chemosensitization of Nematocyst Discharge.
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Novel tools for the study of development, migration and turnover of nematocytes (cnidarian stinging cells).
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