Knowledge Tree
Marine bristleworms
Also known as: marine bristleworm
Facts (12)
Sources
How Lunar Cycles Guide the Spawning of Sea Creatures smithsonianmag.com Mar 8, 2023 11 facts
claimWhile biological clocks in Drosophila and mice are housed in the brain, marine bristleworms possess biological clocks in both their forebrain and the peripheral tissues of their trunk.
claimMarine bristleworms spawn during a one- to two-hour window occurring in the dark period between sunset and moonrise on designated spawning nights.
claimIn marine bristleworms, moonlight conditions cause only one of two flavin molecules to be photoreduced, whereas bright light causes both flavin molecules to be photoreduced quickly.
measurementThe r-Opsin molecule found in marine bristleworms is approximately one hundred times more sensitive to light than the melanopsin found in the average human eye.
claimResearchers do not yet know the specific biological signals transmitted by the different cellular locations of L-Cry molecules in marine bristleworms.
claimScientists state that while the L-Cry protein is essential for discriminating between sunlight and moonlight in marine bristleworms, other light-sensing molecules are also involved.
claimIn marine bristleworms, fully photoreduced L-Cry proteins are located in the cytoplasm where they are destroyed, while partly photoreduced L-Cry proteins are located in the nucleus.
claimThe authors of a 2022 report conclude that the L-Cry protein mechanism in marine bristleworms functions as a highly sensitive low-light sensor for moonlight detection and a less sensitive high-light sensor for sunlight detection.
claimResearchers propose that the r-Opsin molecule modifies the marine bristleworm's daily clock by acting as a moonrise sensor.
claimMarine bristleworms use a combination of signals from the r-Opsin sensor and the L-Cry protein to determine the precise time to rise to the surface and release gametes on spawning nights.
claimMarine bristleworms use a six-hour window of moonlight exposure during a full moon to synchronize their spawning with monthly lunar cycles.
Lunar effect - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 1 fact
claimResearchers use the marine bristle worm Platynereis dumerilii to study the molecular mechanisms by which marine species detect and respond to the lunar cycle.