Fig. 1: Coordinated and uncoordinated cellular movement in Trichoplax.
From: Coordinated cellular behavior regulated by epinephrine neurotransmitters in the nerveless placozoa
A Phylogenetic tree of the main animal groups and GPCR family classification of pre-bilaterian animals. The number of receptors in each family of GPCRs is shown on the right57,58,59. Brown: Rhodopsin family; Yellow, Adhesion family; Green, Glutamate family; Blue, Frizzled family. B Diagram showing the structure of Trichoplax. SS, shiny sphere; EC, epithelial cell; GC, gland cell; CC, Crystal cell; LC, lipophilic cell; FC, fiber cell. C Representative images showing different morphology of the same individual stained with bright cresol blue and neutral red at three distinct regions. The movement of this individual was shown in Supplementary Movie 1. D Phenotypic diversity of Trichoplax adhaerens. E Chemotaxis analysis of Trichoplax. The left image shows the initial distribution of approximately 20 individuals in the 5 mm petri dish. The right image shows the accumulation of Trichoplax (arrows) near the algae food 72 h later, N = 3 independent experiments. F Representative images showing the synchronized crinkling and flattening morphology of three individuals when they encounter each other. Their movements are shown in Supplementary Movie 2. G Frequency of feeding behavior of Trichoplax cultured in less or extra food conditions. “Single” indicates that each individual was cultured separately, while “Multiple” refers to groups of animals cultured together. ns, not significant, Unpaired Mann-Whitney-test. Bottom: percentages of time spent in synchronized versus asynchronized feeding behavior among animals cultured together. N = 3 independent experiments. Source data are provided as a Source Data file. 100 μm in panel (C); 500 μm in panel (D) and 1 mm in panel (E and F).
