Desmin and Actin Filaments in Membrane-Cytoskeletal Preparations of the Electric Tissue of Electrophorus electricus, L.

Mermelstein, Cláudia; Benchimol, Marlene; Taffarel, M; Cordeiro, M. C. R.; Chagas, Carlos; Neto, Vivaldo Moura

doi:10.1679/aohc.60.445

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

(32 reference statements)

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“…The analysis of these cytoskeletal-enriched membrane fractions by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, showed that actin and desmin could be the cytoskeletal components of these preparations. In fact, a peptidic map produced with these proteins extracted from the gel, confirmed their identity as been actin and desmin (Mermelstein et al 1988(Mermelstein et al , 1997. We have not found long actin filaments in the cytoskeletal network of the electrocytes.…”

Section: Cytoskeleton Of the Electrocyte Of Electrophorus Electricussupporting

confidence: 72%

“…As they are important in myofibrillogenesis, they should be also involved in the breakdown of myofibrils during muscle dedifferentiation. When these cytoskeletal-enriched membrane fractions from the main electric organ were examined by transmission electron microscopy, a network of cytoskeletal filaments associated with membranes could be easily observed (Mermelstein et al 1997). The analysis of these cytoskeletal-enriched membrane fractions by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, showed that actin and desmin could be the cytoskeletal components of these preparations.…”

Section: Cytoskeleton Of the Electrocyte Of Electrophorus Electricusmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The presence of desmin in fractions of membrane of the main electric organ (Mermelstein et al 1988(Mermelstein et al , 1997 suggests a possible association between desmin and membranes of electrocytes. In striated muscle, desmin is concentrated in the Z line (and in intercalated disks in cardiac muscle) and on the non-myofibrillar region.…”

Section: Cytoskeleton Of the Electrocyte Of Electrophorus Electricusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The cytoskeleton of the electric tissue of Electrophorus electricus, L.

Mermelstein

Costa

Moura‐Neto

2000

An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.

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The electric eel Electrophorus electricus is a fresh water teleost showing an electrogenic tissue that produces electric discharges. This electrogenic tissue is distributed in three well-defined electric organs which may be found symmetrically along both sides of the eel. These electric organs develop from muscle and exhibit several biochemical properties and morphological features of the muscle sarcolema. This review examines the contribution of the cytoskeletal meshwork to the maintenance of the polarized organization of the electrocyte, the cell that contains all electric properties of each electric organ. The cytoskeletal filaments display an important role in the establishment and maintenance of the highly specialized membrane model system of the electrocyte. As a muscular tissue, these electric organs expresses actin and desmin. The studies that characterized these cytoskeletal proteins and their implications on the electrophysiology of the electric tissues are revisited.

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Section: Cytoskeleton Of the Electrocyte Of Electrophorus Electricussupporting

confidence: 72%

Section: Cytoskeleton Of the Electrocyte Of Electrophorus Electricusmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Cytoskeleton Of the Electrocyte Of Electrophorus Electricusmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The cytoskeleton of the electric tissue of Electrophorus electricus, L.

Mermelstein

Costa

Moura‐Neto

2000

An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.

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“…(Schwartz et al, 1975). In strongly electric fish, papillae either are absent (Luft, 1956) or are found at the innervated posterior or at both, the anterior and posterior faces of the electrocyte (Luft, 1956; Machado, de Souza, Benchimol, Attias, & Porter, 1980; Mermelsstein et al, 1997; Stuart & Kamp, 1934). Raia batis possesses papillae at the posterior face (Stuart & Kamp, 1934).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ontogeny of the electric organ discharge and of the papillae of the electrocytes in the weakly electric fish Campylomormyrus rhynchophorus (Teleostei: Mormyridae)

Korniienko

Tiedemann

Vater

et al. 2020

J of Comparative Neurology

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The electric organ of the mormyrid weakly electric fish, Campylomormyrus rhynchophorus (Boulenger, 1898), undergoes changes in both the electric organ discharge (EOD) and the light and electron microscopic morphology as the fish mature from the juvenile to the adult form. Of particular interest was the appearance of papillae, surface specializations of the uninnervated anterior face of the electrocyte, which have been hypothesized to increase the duration of the EOD. In a 24.5 mm long juvenile the adult electric organ (EO) was not yet functional, and the electrocytes lacked papillae. A 40 mm long juvenile, which produced a short biphasic EOD of 1.3 ms duration, shows small papillae (average area 136 μm2). In contrast, the EOD of a 79 mm long juvenile was triphasic. The large increase in duration of the EOD to 23.2 ms was accompanied by a small change in size of the papillae (average area 159 μm2). Similarly, a 150 mm long adult produced a triphasic EOD of comparable duration to the younger stage (24.7 ms) but featured a prominent increase in size of the papillae (average area 402 μm2). Thus, there was no linear correlation between EOD duration and papillary size. The most prominent ultrastructural change was at the level of the myofilaments, which regularly extended into the papillae, only in the oldest specimen—probably serving a supporting function. Physiological mechanisms, like gene expression levels, as demonstrated in some Campylomormyrus species, might be more important concerning the duration of the EOD.

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“…Electrocytes are not contractile, although they do retain some muscle proteins, including cytoskeletal (Mermelstein et al, 1997(Mermelstein et al, , 2000Cartaud et al, 2000), sarcomeric (Unguez & Zakon, 2002;, neuromuscular junction proteins (Asher et al, 1994) and even myogenic transcription factor proteins (Kim et al, 2004;Neville & Schmidt, 1992;Ellisman & Levinson, 1982). Electrocytes are also known to differ from myocytes in an FIG.…”

Section: ) Immunological Studies In a Neotropical Electric Fish mentioning

confidence: 99%

The case for sequencing the genome of the electric eel Electrophorus electricus

Albert

Zakon

Stoddard

et al. 2008

Journal of Fish Biology

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A substantial international community of biologists have proposed the electric eel Electrophorus electricus (Teleostei: Gymnotiformes) as an important candidate for genome sequencing. In this study, the authors outline the unique advantages that a genome sequencing project of this species would offer society for developing new ways of producing and storing electricity. Over tens of millions of years, electric fish have evolved an exceptional capacity to generate a weak (millivolt) electric field in the water near their body from specialized muscle-derived electric organs, and simultaneously, to sense changes in this field that occur when it interacts with foreign objects. This electric sense is used both to navigate and orient in murky tropical waters and to communicate with other members of the same species. Some species, such as the electric eel, have also evolved a strong voltage organ as a means of stunning prey. This organism, and a handful of others scattered worldwide, convert chemical energy from food directly into workable electric energy and could provide important clues on how this process could be manipulated for human benefit. Electric fishes have been used as models for the study of basic biological and behavioural mechanisms for more than 40 years by a large and growing research community. These fishes represent a rich source of experimental material in the areas of excitable membranes, neurochemistry, cellular differentiation, spinal cord regeneration, animal behaviour and the evolution of novel sensory and motor organs. Studies on electric fishes also have tremendous potential as a model for the study of developmental or disease processes, such as muscular dystrophy and spinal cord regeneration. Access to the genome sequence of E. electricus will provide society with a whole new set of molecular tools for understanding the biophysical control of electromotive molecules, excitable membranes and the cellular production of weak and strong electric fields. Understanding the regulation of ion channel genes will be central for efforts to induce the differentiation of electrogenic cells in other tissues and organisms and to control the intrinsic electric behaviours of these cells. Dense genomic sequence information of E. electricus will also help elucidate the genetic basis for the origin and adaptive diversification of a novel vertebrate tissue. The value of existing resources within the community of electric fish research will be greatly enhanced across a broad range of physiological and environmental sciences by having a draft genome sequence of the electric eel.

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Desmin and Actin Filaments in Membrane-Cytoskeletal Preparations of the Electric Tissue of Electrophorus electricus, L.

Cited by 3 publications

References 25 publications

The cytoskeleton of the electric tissue of Electrophorus electricus, L.

The cytoskeleton of the electric tissue of Electrophorus electricus, L.

Ontogeny of the electric organ discharge and of the papillae of the electrocytes in the weakly electric fish Campylomormyrus rhynchophorus (Teleostei: Mormyridae)

The case for sequencing the genome of the electric eel Electrophorus electricus

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