Meeting Abstract
Chitin is an abundant biopolymer comprised of repeating N-acetylglucosamine molecules which is used in building hard structures such as arthropod exoskeletons, annelid chaetae, and the endoskeletons of some corals. Our lab’s recent finding that chitin is endogenously produced in vertebrates suggests that this biopolymer may serve many additional roles in biology. The distribution of chitin and its role in the physiology, anatomy, and development of the anemone N. vectensis (which lacks a hard endo- or exoskeleton or other overt hard structures) are not known, despite the fact that a bona fide chitin synthase gene was recently described in this species. We used affinity histochemistry to show that the tubules of some cnidae in N. vectensis are chitinous. We also demonstrate that treatment with diflubenzuron, an active ingredient in common aquaculture pesticides, stunts regeneration in Nematostella in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest an expanded role for chitin in cnidarians that is not morphologically structural.
