GABA and glutamate immunoreactivity in tentacles of the sea anemone Phymactis papillosa (LESSON 1830)

Sea anemones have a structurally simple nervous system that controls behaviors like feeding, locomotion, aggression, and defense. Specific chemical and tactile stimuli are transduced by ectodermal sensory cells and transmitted via a neural network to cnidocytes and epithelio‐muscular cells, but the nature of the neurotransmitters operating in these processes is still under discussion. Previous studies demonstrated an important role of peptidergic transmission in cnidarians, but during the last decade the contribution of conventional neurotransmitters became increasingly evident. Here, we used immunohistochemistry on light and electron microscopical preparations to investigate the localization of glutamate and GABA in tentacle cross‐sections of the sea anemone Phymactis papillosa. Our results demonstrate strong glutamate immunoreactivity in the nerve plexus, while GABA labeling was most prominent in the underlying epithelio‐muscular layer. Immunoreactivity for both molecules was also found in glandular epithelial cells, and putative sensory cells were GABA positive. Under electron microscopy, both glutamate and GABA immunogold labeling was found in putative neural processes within the neural plexus. These data support a function of glutamate and GABA as signaling molecules in the nervous system of sea anemones. J. Morphol., 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.