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Melatonin Production in the Sea Star Echinaster brasiliensis (Echinodermata)

2014; Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL); Volume: 226; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1086/bblv226n2p146

1939-8697

Rafael Peres, Fernanda Gaspar do Amaral, Antônio Carlos Marques, José Cipolla‐Neto,

Neurobiology and Insect Physiology Research

The primary hormone of the vertebrate pineal gland, melatonin, has been identified broadly throughout the tree of life, in animals, plants, and fungi, supporting a deep evolutionary origin for this signaling molecule. However, some key groups have not been studied. Echinoderms, deuterostome animals, are one of these groups. Herein we study the presence of melatonin and enzymes of its pathway in the sea star Echinaster brasiliensis. We demonstrate that E. brasiliensis produces endogenous melatonin, in the gonads, under a circadian pattern with a nocturnal peak of production. We also show that the enzymes arylalkylamine N-acetyltransferase (AANAT) and tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) are present and are probably regulating the melatonin production.