Occurrence of bioluminescent and nonbioluminescent species in the littoral earthworm genus Pontodrilus

Abstract Pontodrilus litoralis is a cosmopolitan littoral earthworm known to exhibit bioluminescence. Recently, a congeneric species, Pontodrilus longissimus, from Thailand was described. These species are sympatric, but their burrowing depths on Thai beaches are different. In this study, we examine...

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Autores principales:	Teerapong Seesamut, Daichi Yano, José Paitio, Ikuhiko Kin, Somsak Panha, Yuichi Oba
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/c604695e76d84620971483fe1668380b
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:c604695e76d84620971483fe1668380b2021-12-02T14:26:25ZOccurrence of bioluminescent and nonbioluminescent species in the littoral earthworm genus Pontodrilus10.1038/s41598-021-87984-42045-2322https://doaj.org/article/c604695e76d84620971483fe1668380b2021-04-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-87984-4https://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Pontodrilus litoralis is a cosmopolitan littoral earthworm known to exhibit bioluminescence. Recently, a congeneric species, Pontodrilus longissimus, from Thailand was described. These species are sympatric, but their burrowing depths on Thai beaches are different. In this study, we examined the in vivo and in vitro bioluminescent properties of P. longissimus and P. litoralis. Mechanical stimulation induced in vivo luminescence in P. litoralis, as reported previously, but not in P. longissimus. In vitro cross-reaction tests between these species revealed the absence of luciferin and luciferase activities in P. longissimus. The coelomic fluid of P. litoralis had strong fluorescence that matched the spectral maximum of its bioluminescence, but the same result was not observed for P. longissimus. These results suggest that P. litoralis has luminescence abilities due to the creation of bioluminescent components (i.e., luciferin, luciferase, and light emitters). The presence of both luminous and nonluminous species in a single genus is likely widespread, but only a few examples have been confirmed. Our findings provide insight into the possible functions of bioluminescence in earthworms, such as avoiding predation by littoral earwigs.Teerapong SeesamutDaichi YanoJosé PaitioIkuhiko KinSomsak PanhaYuichi ObaNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-8 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Teerapong Seesamut Daichi Yano José Paitio Ikuhiko Kin Somsak Panha Yuichi Oba Occurrence of bioluminescent and nonbioluminescent species in the littoral earthworm genus Pontodrilus
description	Abstract Pontodrilus litoralis is a cosmopolitan littoral earthworm known to exhibit bioluminescence. Recently, a congeneric species, Pontodrilus longissimus, from Thailand was described. These species are sympatric, but their burrowing depths on Thai beaches are different. In this study, we examined the in vivo and in vitro bioluminescent properties of P. longissimus and P. litoralis. Mechanical stimulation induced in vivo luminescence in P. litoralis, as reported previously, but not in P. longissimus. In vitro cross-reaction tests between these species revealed the absence of luciferin and luciferase activities in P. longissimus. The coelomic fluid of P. litoralis had strong fluorescence that matched the spectral maximum of its bioluminescence, but the same result was not observed for P. longissimus. These results suggest that P. litoralis has luminescence abilities due to the creation of bioluminescent components (i.e., luciferin, luciferase, and light emitters). The presence of both luminous and nonluminous species in a single genus is likely widespread, but only a few examples have been confirmed. Our findings provide insight into the possible functions of bioluminescence in earthworms, such as avoiding predation by littoral earwigs.
format	article
author	Teerapong Seesamut Daichi Yano José Paitio Ikuhiko Kin Somsak Panha Yuichi Oba
author_facet	Teerapong Seesamut Daichi Yano José Paitio Ikuhiko Kin Somsak Panha Yuichi Oba
author_sort	Teerapong Seesamut
title	Occurrence of bioluminescent and nonbioluminescent species in the littoral earthworm genus Pontodrilus
title_short	Occurrence of bioluminescent and nonbioluminescent species in the littoral earthworm genus Pontodrilus
title_full	Occurrence of bioluminescent and nonbioluminescent species in the littoral earthworm genus Pontodrilus
title_fullStr	Occurrence of bioluminescent and nonbioluminescent species in the littoral earthworm genus Pontodrilus
title_full_unstemmed	Occurrence of bioluminescent and nonbioluminescent species in the littoral earthworm genus Pontodrilus
title_sort	occurrence of bioluminescent and nonbioluminescent species in the littoral earthworm genus pontodrilus
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/c604695e76d84620971483fe1668380b
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Occurrence of bioluminescent and nonbioluminescent species in the littoral earthworm genus Pontodrilus

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