IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL DETECTION IN MARINE P LANARIA (PLATHELMINTHES TRICALDIDA) OF 5-HYDROXYTRYPTAMINE AND NEUROPEPTIDES RELATED TO THOSE FOUND VERTEBRATES
S. Tekaya et N. Dhainautcourtois, IMMUNOHISTOCHEMICAL DETECTION IN MARINE P LANARIA (PLATHELMINTHES TRICALDIDA) OF 5-HYDROXYTRYPTAMINE AND NEUROPEPTIDES RELATED TO THOSE FOUND VERTEBRATES, Cahiers de biologie marine, 37(2), 1996, pp. 121-133
Antibodies raised against vertebrate peptides have been used in the st
udy of invertebrates since more than 20 years. This has made it possib
le to develop the molecular phylogeny concept, with all the carefulnes
s required to avoid wrong interpretations due to unspecific cross-reac
tions. It is now clearly established that some families of molecules a
ppeared very early in the course of evolution, in primitive metazoan s
uch as the cnidarians, whereas others were only detected in invertebra
tes occupying higher positions in the phylogenetical tree. Among worms
, many groups have been investigated. However, most studies have been
focused on the description of the nervous system. In addition, reports
concerning marine planarians are still rare. In order to contribute t
o a more complete knowledge of the relationships between flatworms and
other invertebrates, we studied two marine planarians Procerodes loba
ta and, to a lesser extent, Sabussowia dioica, which are of interest b
ecause of their primitive phylogenetic position. Several antibodies ra
ised against leu- and metenkephalin, alpha-neo-endorphin, beta-endorph
in, dynorphin 1-17, somatostatin, GRF, substance P, CCK-8s, FMRF-amide
, and 5-hydroxytryptamine were tested on whole body worm sections. The
results given by immunoreactions (IR) were compared with those obtain
ed with histochemical technics used for neurosecretory products, and w
ith the results reported by other authors for a diversity of species.