Responses to mechanically and visually cued water waves in the nervous system of the medicinal leech

Lehmkuhl, Andrew M.; Muthusamy, Arunkumar; Wagenaar, Daniel A.

doi:10.1242/jeb.171728

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 29 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…Leeches are efficient predators because of their specialized predation adaptation, with acute senses such as hearing, vision, and chemosensation. Leeches trace and locate their prey via mechanical and visual cues from water waves on the basis of S cells [ 9 ]. Ethological experiments have shown that leeches can quickly identify and locate the source of sound by analyzing the distribution of water waves [ 9 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Leeches trace and locate their prey via mechanical and visual cues from water waves on the basis of S cells [ 9 ]. Ethological experiments have shown that leeches can quickly identify and locate the source of sound by analyzing the distribution of water waves [ 9 ]. Among hearing-related genes, SIX1 mediates the relative numbers of sensory hair cells and statoacoustic ganglion neurons [ 10 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Molecular mechanisms underlying hematophagia revealed by comparative analyses of leech genomes

et al. 2022

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Background Leeches have been used in traditional Chinese medicine since prehistoric times to treat a spectrum of ailments, but very little is known about their physiological, genetic, and evolutionary characteristics. Findings We sequenced and assembled chromosome-level genomes of 3 leech species (bloodsucking Hirudo nipponia and Hirudinaria manillensis and nonbloodsucking Whitmania pigra). The dynamic population histories and genome-wide expression patterns of the 2 bloodsucking leech species were found to be similar. A combined analysis of the genomic and transcriptional data revealed that the bloodsucking leeches have a presumably enhanced auditory sense for prey location in relatively deep fresh water. The copy number of genes related to anticoagulation, analgesia, and anti-inflammation increased in the bloodsucking leeches, and their gene expressions responded dynamically to the bloodsucking process. Furthermore, the expanded FBN1 gene family may help in rapid body swelling of leeches after bloodsucking, and the expanded GLB3 gene family may be associated with long-term storage of prey blood in a leech's body. Conclusions The high-quality reference genomes and comprehensive datasets obtained in this study may facilitate innovations in the artificial culture and strain optimization of leeches.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular mechanisms underlying hematophagia revealed by comparative analyses of leech genomes

et al. 2022

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“…This demonstrates that its visual system has the ability to process spatiotemporal patterned visual stimuli, despite the lack of image-forming eyes. S cells respond when the leech is presented with flashes of light as well as to stimuli associated with water waves (Lehmkuhl et al, 2018). Their multimodal response properties, along with the fact that the S-cell system spans the entire body, make them an intriguing candidate for further investigations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrophysiology and transcriptomics reveal two photoreceptor classes and complex visual integration inHirudo verbana

Stowasser

Stahl

Benoit

et al. 2019

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Among animals with visual processing mechanisms, the leech Hirudo verbana is a rare example in which all neurons can be identified. However, little is known about its visual system, which is composed of several pigmented head eyes and photosensitive non-pigmented sensilla that are distributed across its entire body. Although several interneurons are known to respond to visual stimuli, their response properties are poorly understood. Among these, the S-cell system is especially intriguing: it is multimodal, spans the entire body of the leech and is thought to be involved in sensory integration. To improve our understanding of the role of this system, we tested its spectral sensitivity, spatial integration and adaptation properties. The response of the S-cell system to visual stimuli was found to be strongly dependent on the size of the area stimulated, and adaptation was local. Furthermore, an adaptation experiment demonstrated that at least two color channels contributed to the response, and that their contribution was dependent on the adaptation to the background. The existence of at least two color channels was further supported by transcriptomic evidence, which indicated the existence of at least two distinct groups of putative opsins for leeches. Taken together, our results show that the S-cell system has response properties that could be involved in the processing of spatial and color information of visual stimuli. We propose the leech as a novel system to understand visual processing mechanisms with many practical advantages.

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Bioinspired Navigation Based on Distributed Sensing in the Leech

Nichols

Kehl

Taylor

et al. 2020

Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems

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Responses to mechanically and visually cued water waves in the nervous system of the medicinal leech

Cited by 5 publications

References 29 publications

Molecular mechanisms underlying hematophagia revealed by comparative analyses of leech genomes

Molecular mechanisms underlying hematophagia revealed by comparative analyses of leech genomes

Electrophysiology and transcriptomics reveal two photoreceptor classes and complex visual integration inHirudo verbana

Bioinspired Navigation Based on Distributed Sensing in the Leech

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