Abstract
Global warming and connected acidification of the world ocean attract a substantial amount of research efforts, in particular in a context of their impact on behaviour and metabolism of marine organisms, such as Cnidaria. Nevertheless, mechanisms underlying Cnidarians’ neural signalling and behaviour and their (possible) alterations due to the world ocean acidification remain poorly understood. Here we researched for the first time modulation of GABAA receptors (GABAARs) in Actinia equina (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) by pH fluctuations within a range predicted by the world ocean acidification scenarios for the next 80–100 years and by selective pharmacological activation. We found that in line with earlier studies on vertebrates, both changes of pH and activation of GABAARs with a selective allosteric agonist (diazepam) modulate electrical charge transfer through GABAAR and the whole-cell excitability. On top of that, diazepam modifies the animal behavioural reaction on startle response. However, despite behavioural reactions displayed by living animals are controlled by GABAARs, changes of pH do not alter them significantly. Possible mechanisms underlying the species resistance to acidification impact are discussed.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1851–1858 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Pflugers Archiv : European Journal of Physiology |
Volume | 473 |
Early online date | 11 Oct 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Open access via Springer Compact AgreementAcknowledgements
This study was supported with Wellcome-ISSF award via the University of Aberdeen and the University of Aberdeen Pump-Priming award SF10237-52 for S. Sylantyev and with Improving Environmental Monitoring in the Black Sea – Phase II (EMBLAS-II) ENPI/2013/313-169 grant for S. Snigirov.
Keywords
- GABAA receptor
- pH-dependent receptor
- diazepam
- Actinia equina
- global warming
- startle response