SK/cck neuropeptide may be a "special medicine" to prevent starfish from eating.
picture from Pixabay.com
The way starfish eat is very strange-when they encounter delicious food such as mussel or oyster, they will spit out their stomachs and digest them out of their mouths Selected prey. Previous studies have shown that a molecule similar to the human "love hormone"- oxytocin induces this behavior. However, scientists don't know what the chemical substance is that makes the starfish stop this feeding behavior.
On September 7th, local time, a research team from Queen Mary University of London, UK, studied the effects of SK/cck neuropeptides, which inhibit the feeding behavior of humans and insects, on starfish, using red star starfish as the object. They found that when the hormone was injected into the starfish, the starfish’s stomach contracted. Not only that, these starfish injected with SK/cck neuropeptides are reluctant to eat even when faced with their favorite mussels.
Starfish is a species of echinoderms . Echinoderms occupy a unique position in evolution. They are the "missing link" between vertebrates and insects. This feature makes starfish and other echinoderms (such as sea urchins) an effective animal model to help us understand the evolution of proteins.
Dr. Ana Tinoco, a postdoctoral research assistant at Queen Mary’s College, one of the leaders of this research, said: “Sea stars have a unique way of eating, so we can use it to study chemicals that regulate the eating process. Although we already know SK Hormones such as /cck neuropeptides are very important for eating, but I am still surprised by their effect on sea stars. You should know that sea stars, vertebrates, insects, etc. have completely different ways of eating. They lack brains and have unique appearances."
Professor Maurice Elphick of Physiology and Neuroscience at Queen Mary’s College said: “Our findings provide new evidence.It proves that the SK/cck neuropeptide has the effect of inhibiting the regulation of eating in evolution. This new discovery may also contribute to the development of new drugs for the treatment of eating disorders. However, if this goal is to be achieved, scientists need to carry out further studies to determine the mediation of SK/cck-type nerves in humans and other animals. The three-dimensional structure of the peptide-acting receptor protein. ”
Compiler: Orange Review: Seamore Editor: Chen Zhihan
Journal source:" eLife "
Journal number: 2050-084X
Original link: https://phys.org/news/2021- 09-chemical-starfish-behavior.html
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