Influence of melatonin on gonad maturation inLineus lacteus (Heteronemertini, Lineidae)
✍ Scribed by Arnoult, Fabrice; Vernet, Guy
- Book ID
- 102648280
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons
- Year
- 1996
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 501 KB
- Volume
- 274
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0022-104X
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✦ Synopsis
The annual reproductive cycle of Lineus lacteus is regulated by photoperiod and thermoperiod. Gonad maturation depends on a gonad-inhibiting hormone (GIH) secreted by the cerebral ganglia, in which melatonin was also observed. Results in the worm showed that melatonin concentrations seemed to vary at the two most appropriate times of the year (spawning and sexual rest), in an inverse manner to the state of gonad maturation. Exogenous melatonin did not significantly inhibit but delayed the advanced maturation of gonads triggered by decapitation of the worm. We also showed that the GIH is not melatonin. We therefore assume that the gonadinhibiting action of melatonin is indirect, and acts via the GIH.