Meeting Abstract

P1.215  Friday, Jan. 4  Exploration of the role of indoleamines in the cyclical behavior of Tritonia diomedea WALLACE, K/R*; CALLAGHAN, M; MURRAY, J; BELL, J; CSU East Bay; CSU Monterey Bay; CSU East Bay; CSU Maritime kelsey.r.wallace@gmail.com

Recent data have shown that Tritonia diomedea, an opisthobranch mollusc that is functionally blind, displays cyclical changes in crawling when entrained to a consistent photoperiod. The investigation involved exploring possible hormonal mediation of this activity rhythm. Hemolymph samples were obtained after 5, 10, 11, and 12 days of exposure to a strict 12 hour-light, 12 hour-dark schedule. Exogenous hormones in biological quantities were injected into the hemocoel of the animals at times that corresponded to low secretion levels in order to elicit a change in the rate of crawling, as measured by camera footage. An LC/MS protocol was developed against known biological standards using pure caffeine as a baseline marker. Overall standard purity ranged from 97-94%. The hemolymph samples were filtered using an Agilent filtration cartridge and concentrated under hydrogen. The limit of detection using fluorescence was 1.4 x10-9 M for melatonin and 4.54 x10-10 M for serotonin. The data suggests that melatonin is not in the hemolymph. Serotonin, on the other hand, is present in the hemolymph, implying an endocrine function. If melatonin and serotonin are involved in this animal’s activity, the result could be a simpler biological model for studying the neuronal function of sleep. This may help us understand how sleep affects memory on a synaptic level. Understanding Tritonia’s behavioral cycles could also have implications for understanding the ecology of their prey, soft corals.