Computational Analysis and Anatomical Expression of Nociception-associated Transcripts in the Squid Euprymna berryi
John Benedict
Department of Biology
Faculty Supervisor: Robyn Crook
Nociception is the detection of harmful stimuli, which is widely conserved across the animal kingdom. Nociception is often studied in invertebrates, using a large variety of model organisms from flies to cephalopods. In cephalopods, nociception has been characterized at the physiological and behavioral level, however, there is a gap in knowledge concerning the molecular mechanisms of signal transduction in cephalopod nociceptors, and the specific identities and locations of cells in nociceptive pathways in the arms, brain and peripheral tissues. To address this, we conducted bioinformatic analysis of nociceptor-associated transcripts in closely and distantly related species, identifying ten potential targets. We selected five transcripts we considered to be likely for nociceptors in Euprymna berryi. We are currently performing multiplexed hybridization chain reaction (HCR) to localize putative nociceptors in the arms, stellate ganglion and brain of E. berryi. This study aims to connect behavioral and physiological studies of nociception and potential pain in cephalopods with their molecular substrates, providing new information about conserved and novel aspects of nociceptive processing across diverse animal taxa. markers.