Skip to main content

MINI REVIEW article

Front. Ecol. Evol., 08 September 2021
Sec. Evolutionary Developmental Biology
This article is part of the Research Topic Hormones and Life History Strategies View all 10 articles

Maternal Serotonin: Shaping Developmental Patterns and Behavioral Strategy on Progeny in Molluscs

  • Laboratory of Comparative and Developmental Physiology Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Serotonin is a well-known neurotransmitter and neurohormone regulating mood, sleep, feeding, and learning in high organisms. Serotonin also affects the embryonic events related to neurogenesis and maturation of hormonal systems, the underlying organism adaptation to a changing environment. Such serotonin-based mother-to-embryo signaling is realized via direct interactions in case of internal fertilization and embryonic development inside the mother body. However, the possibility of such signaling is less obvious in organisms with the ancestral type of embryogenesis and embryo development within the egg, outside the mother body. Our data, based on the investigation of freshwater gastropod molluscs (Lymnaea and Helisoma), demonstrated a correlation between seasonal variations of serotonin content within the female reproductive system, and developmental patterns and the behavioral characteristics of progeny. The direct action of serotonin via posttranslational protein modification—serotonylation—during early development, as well as classical receptor-mediated effects, underlies such serotonin-modulated developmental changes. In the present paper, I will shortly overview our results on freshwater molluscs and parallel the experimental data with the living strategy of these species occupying almost all Holarctic regions.

Introduction

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is a biogenic amine that can be found in most living organisms. It is a well-known neurotransmitter and neuromodulator in the nervous system of vertebrates and invertebrates, impacting such important aspects of life as learning and memory, aggression, sleep, arousal reaction, food uptake, and many others (Müller and Cunningham, 2020). It is also found in the peripheral tissues and organs where it serves as a neurohormone regulating blood pressure and platelets-dependent clotting, glucose metabolism and weight regulation in mammals (Muma and Mi, 2015; Pilowsky, 2018). The serotoninergic system includes 5-HT synthesis and degradation enzymes, receptors and coupled G-proteins, membrane, and vesicular transporters. Despite substantial variations existing across vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as among different taxa and species (Schmidt-Rhaesa et al., 2016; Müller and Cunningham, 2020), some common organizational principles can be noted for the serotoninergic system. First, the 5-HT-containing neurons constitute a fairly small portion of neuronal elements. However, these elements provide widespread terminals contacting numerous cellular targets. Second, the serotonin receptors and transporters are present in the cell membrane of almost all tissues and organs and react to the surrounding serotonin as to hormone even far from the 5-HT released sites. Third, all components of the serotonergic systems appear to be highly plastic with both the anatomical organizations and biochemical pieces of machinery that can change at different periods of life, or under various environmental conditions. Such features of the serotonergic system allow us to speculate that 5-HT acts more as a basic modulator or integrating molecule (Sakharov, 1990; Moroz et al., 2021) at the level of the whole organism than just a local mediator transmitting a particular signal between certain cells and their targets. Moreover, serotonin has been found since the very early stage of animal development, in oocytes, zygotes, and cleaved blastomeres (Buznikov et al., 1964, 2001; Dubé and Amireault, 2007). Later in development serotonin affects the embryonic events related to neurogenesis and maturation of hormonal systems (Buznikov, 1991; Bonnin and Levitt, 2011; Bonnin et al., 2011; Vitalis et al., 2013). Serotonin appears evolutionarily before the formation of the first neurons and is a well-recognized component of ancient and archetypical signaling systems (Turlejski, 1996; Azmitia, 2010). Thus serotonin has a high potential to serve as a link between external signals, the physiological state of the maternal organism, and forming developmental and behavioral characteristics of progeny, which determine the life strategy of the generation.

To test the function of serotonin as such a broad regulating molecule we used freshwater snails: Lymnaea stagnalis and Helisoma trivolvis (Mollusca; Gastropoda), as experimental objects. These species are a popular model for neurobiology, physiology, and developmental biology. The morphology of the adult’s and embryos nervous system, developmental patterns, reproduction, and behavior in normal conditions are documented in detail (Morrill, 1982; Meshcheryakov, 1990; Kemenes and Benjamin, 2009; Koene, 2010). The species are also subjects for numerous ecological and ecotoxicological studies (Morrison and Belden, 2016; Amorim et al., 2019; Fodor et al., 2020; Svigruha et al., 2020).

In this mini-review, I will compact our 20 years of research devoted to the delayed effects of serotonin shaping both the developmental patterns and behavior of progeny in gastropod molluscs. We demonstrated: (i) a correlation between season and the serotonin level in the local serotonergic network in the female reproductive system, (ii) increased intracellular serotonin during early cleavage, impacting embryonic development and juvenile behavior, (iii) the modulating role of serotonin produced by early embryonic neurons on developmental tempo and hatching. Two mechanisms underlie described long-lasting serotonin effects: (1) classical receptor-mediated regulations, and (2) the non-canonical intracellular action of serotonin as a chemical substance for transglutaminase-mediated posttranslational proteins modification (serotonylation). The combination of these mechanisms or the prevalence of one over the other varies stage-dependently at the course of embryogenesis. As a result, developing embryos demonstrate tune adaptations to the variable environmental challenges they will be faced with during their adult life, despite having no direct contact with the changing environment before birth or hatching. Such non-genetic transfer of a maternal serotonin-mediated signal provides the appropriate adaptive choice of the progeny life strategy, ensures population reproductive success and wide distribution of the species (Figure 1).

FIGURE 1
www.frontiersin.org

Figure 1. Schematic representation of the tune adaptations in progeny live strategies based on serotonin-mediated regulatory mechanisms during the freshwater gastropod mollusc life cycle. The solid red arrow represents the direct effect of mother serotonin to the developing oocytes and zygotes. The dashed red arrow represents chemical water-born signaling from adults, which activates the serotonin release from specific embryonic sensory neurons. 5-HTRec—specific serotonin receptors in embryonic tissues. The female reproductive system represents a location of the closest contact between the mothers’ serotonin releasing network with oocyte and zygote (maternal serotonin arrow). The seasonal and environmental factors lead to modulation of the serotonin level in the mother organism and subsequent changes within the developing embryo. High serotonin within cleaved blastomeres provides a substrate for the serotonylation of specific proteins, and appearance of the progeny with faster development and locomotion, raised survival and productivity. Embryonic apical neurons react to water-born chemical signals emitted by adults in unfavorable conditions (“adult-to-embryo” chemical signaling dashed arrow). Serotonin released from the apical neurons activate specific serotonin receptors located in embryonic cells and stage-dependently retard or accelerate the developmental tempo and juvenile behavior. Combinations of serotonin-dependent mechanisms in the course of development underlay the appropriate adaptive choice of the progeny life strategy, ensures the population reproductive success and the wide distribution of the species.

Local Serotonergic Network in the Female Mollusc Reproductive System as the Location of Closest Contact Between Maternal Tissues and the Early Embryo

One of the biggest questions is how environmental information or parents’ behavioral experiences can be encoded and transmitted from the nervous system of adults to the gonads, and subsequently to progeny? Such maternal effects on offspring phenotype, particularly in how maternal experience can adaptively shape offspring behavior and the developmental state attracted the attention of evolutionary ecologists and evo-devo biologists for a long time. No single source can cover all aspects of the maternal effects. The principal topics, a number of general issues, updated coverage of problem agendas and perspectives mostly covered in comprehensive reviews (Bernardo, 1996; Rossiter, 1996; Mousseau and Fox, 1998; Bonduriansky and Day, 2009; Uller et al., 2009), with examples from mammals (Maestripieri and Mateo, 2009), maternal effects in marine environments (Marshall et al., 2008), some aspects of the evolution of maternal effects from a developmental perspective (Uller, 2012) and ecological and evolutionary implications, in particular, for plants (Sultan, 2015). In our work we concentrated in one possible particular underlying mechanism of adult-to-embryo signaling—the serotonin-mediated maternal effect—in a limited group of aquatic molluscs. We demonstrated that in freshwater gastropods’ serotonin is a key player providing a link between generations by affecting the oocyte and fertilized zygote within the mother reproductive system.

In addition to neurons located within the central ganglia and rich peripheral innervation, the local network of 5-HT-containing cells located in the female part of the Lymnaea reproductive system. L. stagnalis is a hermaphroditic gastropod snail and the reproductive system contains both male and female parts. Oocytes start their way along the oviduct in response to the signals from the neuroendocrine cells. Ripe oocytes are fertilized in the fertilization pouch and supplied with perivitelline fluid secreted by the albumen gland. Then the zygote starts to move through the folded muscular uterus (pars contorta) and there it is enveloped in two membranes and forms the egg. The muciparous gland secretes mucus that fuses the eggs together, the oothecal gland surrounds the whole egg mass with tunica capsulis, and the complete egg mass leave the mother organism to the environment via female gonopore (Koene, 2010). Most aforementioned parts of the reproductive system are innervated by 5-HT-immunopositive fibers. However, only the uterus possesses the intensive local network of 5-HT-containing elements.

The dense network of 5-HT-immunoreactive cells and their processes in the epithelium, and in the muscular layer of the uterus, represent the key location where maternal serotonin contacts with zygotes (Ivashkin et al., 2017). Numerous multipolar 5-HT-containing cells are located between the epithelial cells in the folded part of the uterus (convoluted part of the pars contorta). Their thick bulb-shaped apical processes contact the inner lumen of the duct and the basal varicose fibers organize a basket-shape network on the surface of the folded epithelium. The morphology of multipolar 5-HT-containing cells suggested their exocrine function, and active release of their transmitter content –serotonin—into the reproductive tract lumen. The extensive folding of the uterus indicates that the fertilized egg spends a long time moving along this part of the reproductive system. And during all that time the zygote is exposed to serotonin which is released by the serotonergic cells of the mother’s organism.

Direct measurements of 5-HT content in the Lymnaea confirmed the high level of 5-HT in the female part of the reproductive system, especially within the pars contorta region. The important fact is that serotonin level within this particular region of the reproductive system is season-dependent: 5-HT content within the uterus gradually increased from winter through spring to summer, then falls dramatically in the autumn (Ivashkin et al., 2015). Pharmacological experiments with the application of 5-HT immediate biochemical precursor—5-HTP—result in an enhanced serotonin level similar to in summertime while the application of chlorpromazine leads to serotonin depletion similar to the autumn condition. These pharmacological approaches allowed us to experimentally mimic the natural seasons in the laboratory and follow the induced changes in progeny development and behavior under various conditions (see detailed description below).

Season-Dependent Tuning of Progeny Development and Behavior and the Underlying Serotonin-Mediated Mechanism

As we demonstrated, the local serotonergic network within the female reproductive system represents the location of closest contact between maternal tissues and the zygote, and season-dependent serotonin production by a maternal organism, has likely mediated the transmission of 5-HT-based signals to progeny.

Indeed, summer and autumn embryos and juveniles varied in specific sets of characters. A Lymnaea embryo develops within the egg capsule and there it passes cleavage, gastrulation, premetamorphic larvae stages (trochophore, veliger, and hippo), and undergoes metamorphosis and hatches as a miniature adult-like snail (Meshcheryakov, 1990). The summer generation demonstrates the accelerated speed of embryo rotation within the egg capsule, developmental dynamics with faster premetamorphic and metamorphic phases, and hatch 1–2 days earlier than the representatives of the autumn generation. Juvenile Lymnaea snails leave the egg cocoon using intense terrestrial locomotion, and after hatching utilize both gliding and terrestrial locomotion to inspect their novel environment. Summer juveniles moved about two times faster than autumn individuals, prefer vertical surfaces, and often exhibit negative geotaxis, thus leaving the water and creeping onto the bank margin. They can survive drying and stay alive longer with low oxygen. On the contrary, autumn juveniles spend more time on horizontal surfaces underwater, and approach the water surface for respiration episodes only. Contrary to summer individuals they spend more time feeding and grow faster. Nevertheless, summer and autumn generations become reproductively active simultaneously. Moreover, summer individuals produce more eggs than autumn ones.

Such a combination of features makes the summer-born generation exceptionally efficient at dispersion. They preferentially search for new habitats and demonstrate the “migrants” complex of behavior features described above. In contrast, the snails that hatched during the autumn tend to remain in their local environment and demonstrate “resident” behavioral characters.

Previously, it has been shown that juveniles of gastropod snails may disperse under natural conditions to distant water habitats by riding on the feathers and inside the gut of waterfowl and similar birds (Kawakami et al., 2008; Boag, 1986; van Leeuwen et al., 2012). In such a case, the “migrant” strategy with a negative geotaxis, a tendency to crawl to the water surface, combined with the fast locomotion of summer-born juveniles, increases their chances to cling to the bird’s feathers or be swallowed. Usually, birds do not migrate large distances during summer, so juvenile snails have a chance to be successfully transferred to new water habitats. On the contrary, spring and autumn are the times when birds migrate long distances to their final location. And in this case, the “resident” strategy of juvenile snails with more time deep in the water ensures their better survival in their original habitat.

Interestingly, the pharmacological treatment of the mother can switch the natural season-dependent phenotype of progeny. The application of 5-HTP to an autumn mother-snail (with low natural serotonin) enhanced serotonin levels within the local network and resulted in the “summer” phenotype appearance in the originally autumn generation. And vice versa, the depletion of serotonin in the mother organism during summer (the season with originally high serotonin) leads to loss of active summer phenotype and the appearance of progeny with autumn characteristics (Ivashkin et al., 2015).

It should be noted that the modulations of serotonin levels had an effect on the development and behavior of progeny only if that occurred early at embryogenesis: at zygote or during cleavage stages (Voronezhskaya et al., 2012). This fact indicates that possible mechanism(s) underlying the phenomenon of described long-term serotonin-mediated changes utilizes the non-canonical way of serotonin action.

Recently a novel mechanism explaining such prolonged serotonin actions has been found. It has been shown that in addition to the classical pathway via binding to membrane receptors, serotonin can modify the intracellular proteins. This process of covalent serotonin binding to glutamine residues of the target protein is mediated by transglutaminase (TGase) and has been termed “serotonylation” (Walther et al., 2003). Not only can serotonin be a substrate for TGase-mediated transamidation but also other monoamines (Hummerich et al., 2012). This novel posttranslational proteins modification has an impact on such important physiological processes as platelet activation, insulin release, smooth muscle contraction, and even the regulation of transcription (Muma and Mi, 2015; Bader, 2019; Farrelly et al., 2019).

In our experiments, we demonstrated that L. stagnalis zygote and cleaved blastomeres have all the necessary biochemical machinery to perform serotonylation. They can transport serotonin inside the cells using the membrane transporter SERT or synthesize it from the precursors (Voronezhskaya et al., 2012). The basic level of serotonylation occurs naturally for a specific set of proteins in cleaved blastomeres, and it is enhanced and modified in response to an increased serotonin level (Ivashkin et al., 2015). Notably, among these modified molecules some nuclear proteins serve as a substrate for transglutaminase-mediated serotonylation as well (Ivashkin et al., 2019). The specific pattern of serotonylated proteins can be modified by enhanced serotonin during the zygote and early cleavage stages, but not at veliger and post-metamorphic embryos. Accordingly, TGase inhibition prevents the formation of serotonylated proteins at the early developmental stages as well as negating the delayed effects of enhanced serotonin level on progeny development and behavior. That confirms the involvement of the serotonylation mechanism in the long-term effect of serotonin in the formation of behavioral characters in molluscan progeny.

Summarizing the role serotonin played during early Lymnaea development, we can conclude that oocyte, zygote, and cleaved blastomeres are the targets for serotonin released by the mother-snail local serotonergic networks. Serotonin deposited within the embryonic cells can modify specific sets of intracellular and nuclear proteins in differentiating blastomeres which give rise to numerous tissues and organs (Ivashkin et al., 2019). Finally, the modulation of early serotonin level leads to modification in developmental dynamics and behavior of progeny (Ivashkin et al., 2015).

The presence of 5-HT elements in gonads and the reproductive tract has been found in representatives of various molluscan species: in the bivalve Patinopecten (Matsutani and Nomura, 1986), in nudibranchs Pleurobranchaea and Tritonia (Moroz et al., 1997), in opisthobranch Asperspina (Delgado et al., 2012). In many bivalves, the application of 5-HT stimulates oocytes maturation, induces spawning, or stimulates parturition (Fong et al., 1994; Fong, 1998). Serotonin level in parent organisms is highly variable and reflects the animal particular physiological states and certain environmental conditions. The serotonin level is different in starved and satiated animals (Hernádi et al., 2004), changes after intense locomotion (Aonuma et al., 2020) or under anxiety and stress conditions (Fossat et al., 2014). Our experiments with molluscs clearly demonstrate that all these physiological states and changes may influence the future generation in case they are happening in a specific time window (early cleavage) during embryonic development.

The effect of maternally-derived serotonin on germ cells has been shown also for nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Serotonin released by maternal neurons during stress acts through conserved signal transduction pathways and enables the transcription factor HSF1 to alter chromatin in soon-to-be fertilized germ cells. This mechanism ensures the viability and stress resilience of future offspring (Das et al., 2020).

We do not know yet all the players and certain pathways which link the modification of proteins within L. stagnalis blastomeres, and the formation of neuronal networks underlying juvenile molluscs’ behavior. However, we clearly see the phenomenon of maternal serotonin-mediated phenotypic adjustments providing more efficient survival skills and effective dispersion of progeny (Figure 1).

Parental Chemical Signal and Serotonin-Mediated Changes in Developmental Tempo and Juvenile Behavioral Characteristics

Like many representatives of aquatic biosystems, freshwater gastropod molluscs have a biphasic life cycle with embryo and adult forms occupying greatly different ecological niches. Adult Lymnaea and Helisoma release egg cocoons to the external environment and then leave their progeny to develop. The embryonic snail passes larval stages and metamorphosis inside the egg capsule and then hatches as a young juvenile snail. So, in molluscan development, there are no further contacts with the mother organism and the embryo after the egg cocoon was formed. Maternal effects are known to be of particular importance for species in aquatic systems. They not only form a link between the phenotypes of different generations, but the biphasic life cycle of most marine organisms suggests that maternal effects also link the phenotypes of populations (Marshall et al., 2008). In our experiments, we revealed adult-to-embryo chemical signaling, which regulates larval development in freshwater gastropods. We also proved that serotonin is a molecule mediating the adult-derived chemical signal with embryonic developmental tempo and juvenile’s behavioral characteristics (Voronezhskaya et al., 2004, 2007).

When the adult or young juvenile Lymnaea and Helisoma face unfavorable environmental conditions like starvation or crowding they start to release water-borne chemical cues (with a still unidentified chemical structure). In response to those signals, early embryos retard or even stop their development (Voronezhskaya et al., 2004), while metamorphic embryos accelerate developmental tempo, and hatchlings as well as young juveniles demonstrate more active locomotion, feeding and cardiac activity (Voronezhskaya et al., 2007; Glebov et al., 2014). Such an adaptive strategy allows the early embryos to leave its nutrients and wait out inside the egg until the external situation will be improved. On the contrary, the late embryo already used up the egg’s nutrients supply and a more adaptive strategy will be to hatch as soon as possible and leave an unfavorable environment (Figure 1).

The chemical signal (which is certainly not serotonin itself) is emitted by adult snails under conditions of starvation or crowding, and is sensed by specific larval neurons. These neurons are two apical cells that appear early during development at the trochophore stage and contain serotonin in the case of Helisoma, and dopamine and serotonin in Lymnaea. These early cells are bipolar neurons bearing sensory cilia at their apical dendrite and emitting basal axons with numerous varicosities. The morphology and transmitter content of these cells indicate their homology with the apical sensory organ of other invertebrates (Voronezhskaya et al., 2004; Voronezhskaya and Croll, 2015). Upon sensing the water-born chemical signal from conspecific adults, apical cells activate their transmitter content (serotonin in case of Helisoma, and serotonin and dopamine in case of Lymnaea) production and release. Using Helisoma trivolvis embryo we demonstrated how one and the same transmitter—serotonin—can cause the manifestation of opposing adaptive programmes (retardation or acceleration of developmental tempo) stage-dependently, and prove involvement of various serotonin receptors in this regulation (Voronezhskaya et al., 2008; Glebov et al., 2014).

According to the classical view, the diverse physiological functions of serotonin are mediated via membrane serotonin receptors, coupled G-proteins and respective intracellular pathways. Serotonin receptors constitute the largest class of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) which include 16 big families depending on the activation of Na+/K+/Ca2+ ion channel, respective G-protein (Gs, Gi/o, Gq/11), activation or inhibition of adenylate cyclase (AC), and phospholipase C (PLC) (Tierney, 2001). We found at least four types of 5-HT receptors in Helisoma embryos. Activation of 5-HT1- and 5-HT5-like receptors and respective coupled Gi-protein induce acceleration of development, while activation of 5-HT4- and 5-HT7-like and respective Gs-protein results in retardation. While all types of serotonin receptors are expressed during both the early and late stages of embryonic development, their proportions vary stage-dependently. The 5-HT receptors and respective G-proteins whose activation induces developmental retardation (5-HT4-like, 5-HT7-like, Gs) prevails at the early stages. Vice versa, that 5-HT receptors and G-proteins whose activation induces developmental acceleration (5-HT1-like, 5-HT5-like, Gi) preferentially expressed at late stages. Thus the serotonin released from the apical neurons in response to the water-born chemical cue (which is not serotonin but the chemical substance emitted by the adult snail in unfavorable conditions) retards developmental tempo at early stages and accelerated it at later stages, depending upon a certain combination of 5-HT receptors expressed at a particular developmental stage in the embryonic tissues (Glebov et al., 2014).

Our results demonstrated that adult and juvenile snails sufficiently inform their encapsulated larvae about the unfavorable environmental conditions they will be faced with after hatching. The embryo or metamorphic larvae sense the emitted chemical signal by apical neurons. Serotonin released from apical neurons modulates the embryo developmental tempo and juvenile behavior via activation of a certain poll of serotonin receptors located in the embryonic tissues at the current developmental stage. The opposite reactions of the molluscan embryo to the same water-born environmental cues at early and late developmental stages provide an adaptive response at the level of individual organism and better survival of the whole generation.

Conclusion and Future Perspectives

Gastropod molluscs are very successful species with incredible flexibility of life strategies that inhabit a wide variety of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats distributed between the two poles, and ranging from alpine meadows down to the depths of the oceans. In this mini-review we just slightly disclosed one of the possible mechanisms underlying the prosperity of two freshwater gastropod species. We revealed that serotonin appears to be a key molecule playing both hormonal (during cleavage stages) and neurohormonal (during larval stages) roles during Lymnaea and Helisoma embryonic development. Classical receptor-mediated regulation and non-canonical protein modification (serotonylation) underlie serotonin effects. Via these pathways serotonin links the environmental signals received by adults and respective changes in progeny developmental tempo, hatching time, and behavioral characteristics of juveniles. The benefits of such maternal serotonin-driven progeny phenotypic adjustments includes more efficient dispersion, feeding, survival skills, and fertility rates. That features are tuned in to the next-generation according to the different environmental factors the parents experienced.

The possible directions of this field of investigation may be devoted to the following topics: (1) the distribution of serotonin-mediated shaping of life strategy in other species; (2) involvement of other monoamines in maternal regulation of progeny characteristics; (3) the detailed mechanism of serotonin-induced changes in development and behavior from the first step in oocyte till the differentiation of neuronal networks underlying behavior (including transcription regulation). Each of the mentioned tasks can include the field study of the behavior and developmental characteristics in different natural populations, as well as laboratory investigations of the underlying molecular mechanisms of the discovered phenomena in model animals.

Author Contributions

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.

Funding

The works with long-lasting serotonin effects and serotonylated proteins were supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Grant No. 17-14-01353).

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

I greatly acknowledged all co-authors and colleagues who contributed to the original works mentioned in the review. I thanks Olga Kharchenko for the art drawing illustrating the main ideas of this manuscript. The original researches were done using the equipment of the Core Centrum of IDB RAS. The work with serotonin receptors was partly conducted within a frame of IDB RAS Research program No. 0008-2021-0020. I thank the native speakers from the Flarus agency for the professional language proofreading.

References

Amorim, J., Abreu, I., Rodrigues, P., Peixoto, D., Pinheiro, C., Saraiva, A., et al. (2019). Lymnaea stagnalis as a freshwater model invertebrate for ecotoxicological studies. Sci. Total Environ. 669, 11–28. doi: 10.1016/J.SCITOTENV.2019.03.035

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Aonuma, H., Mezheritskiy, M., Boldyshev, B., Totani, Y., Vorontsov, D., Zakharov, I., et al. (2020). The role of serotonin in the influence of intense locomotion on the behavior under uncertainty in the mollusk lymnaea stagnalis. Front. Physiol. 11:221. doi: 10.3389/FPHYS.2020.00221

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Azmitia, E. C. (2010). Evolution of Serotonin: Sunlight to Suicide. Amsterdam: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/s1569-7339(10)70069-2

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Bader, M. (2019). Serotonylation: serotonin signaling and epigenetics. Front. Mol. Neurosci. 12:288. doi: 10.3389/fnmol.2019.00288

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Bernardo, J. (1996). Maternal effects in animal ecology. Am. Zool. 36, 83–105. doi: 10.1093/icb/36.2.83

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Boag, D. A. (1986). Dispersal in pond snails: potential role of waterfowl. 64, 904–909. doi: 10.1139/Z86-136

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Bonduriansky, R., and Day, T. (2009). Nongenetic inheritance and its evolutionary implications. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst. 40, 103–125. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.39.110707.173441

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Bonnin, A., Goeden, N., Chen, K., Wilson, M. L., King, J., Shih, J. C., et al. (2011). A transient placental source of serotonin for the fetal forebrain. Nature 472, 347–350. doi: 10.1038/nature09972

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Bonnin, A., and Levitt, P. (2011). Fetal, maternal, and placental sources of serotonin and new implications for developmental programming of the brain. Neuroscience 197, 1–7. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.10.005

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Buznikov, G. A. (1991). The biogenic amines as regulators of early (pre-nervous) embryogenesis: new data. Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 296, 33–48.

Google Scholar

Buznikov, G. A., Chudakova, I. V., and Zvezdina, N. D. (1964). The role of neurohumours in early embryogenesis. I. Serotonin content of developing embryos of sea urchin and loach. Embryol. Exp. Morph. 12, 563–573.

Google Scholar

Buznikov, G. A., Lambert, W. H., and Lauder, J. M. (2001). Serotonin and serotonin-like substances as regulators of early embryogenesis and morphogenesis. Cell Tissue Res. 305, 177–186. doi: 10.1007/s004410100408

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Das, S., Ooi, F. K., Cruz Corchado, J., Fuller, L. C., Weiner, J. A., and Prahlad, V. (2020). Serotonin signaling by maternal neurons upon stress ensures progeny survival. ELife 9:e55246. doi: 10.7554/eLife.55246

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Delgado, N., Vallejo, D., and Miller, M. W. (2012). Localization of serotonin in the nervous system of Biomphalaria glabrata, an intermediate host for schistosomiasis. J. Comp. Neurol. 520, 3236–3255. doi: 10.1002/cne.23095

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Dubé, F., and Amireault, P. (2007). Local serotonergic signaling in mammalian follicles, oocytes and early embryos. Life Sci. 81, 1627–1637. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2007.09.034

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Farrelly, L. A., Thompson, R. E., Zhao, S., Lepack, A. E., Lyu, Y., Bhanu, N. V., et al. (2019). Histone serotonylation is a permissive modification that enhances TFIID binding to H3K4me3. Nature 567, 535–539. doi: 10.1038/s41586-019-1024-7

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Fodor, I., Hussein, A. A., Benjamin, P. R., Koene, J. M., and Pirger, Z. (2020). The unlimited potential of the great pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis. Elife 9:e56962. doi: 10.7554/elife.56962

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Fong, P. P. (1998). Zebra mussel spawning is induced in low concentrations of putative serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Biol. Bull. 194, 143–149. doi: 10.2307/1543044

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Fong, P. P., Duncan, J., and Ram, J. L. (1994). Inhibition and sex specific induction of spawning by serotonergic ligands in the zebra mussel Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas). Experientia 50, 506–509. doi: 10.1007/BF01920759

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Fossat, P., Bacqué-Cazenave, J., De Deurwaerdère, P., Delbecque, J. P., and Cattaert, D. (2014). Anxiety-like behavior in crayfish is controlled by serotonin. Science 344, 1293–1297. doi: 10.1126/science.1248811

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Glebov, K., Voronezhskaya, E. E., Khabarova, M. Y., Ivashkin, E., Nezlin, L. P., and Ponimaskin, E. G. (2014). Mechanisms underlying dual effects of serotonin during development of Helisoma trivolvis (Mollusca). BMC Dev. Biol. 14:1–19. doi: 10.1186/1471-213X-14-14

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Hernádi, L., Hiripi, L., Dyakonova, V., Gyori, J., and Vehovszky, A. (2004). The effect of food intake on the central monoaminergic system in the snail, Lymnaea stagnalis. Acta Biol. Hung. 55, 185–194. doi: 10.1556/ABIOL.55.2004.1-4.23

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Hummerich, R., Thumfart, J. O., Findeisen, P., Bartsch, D., and Schloss, P. (2012). Transglutaminase-mediated transamidation of serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline to fibronectin: evidence for a general mechanism of monoaminylation. FEBS Lett. 586, 3421–3428. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2012.07.062

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Ivashkin, E. G., Khabarova, M. Y., Melnikova, V. I., Kharchenko, O. A., and Voronezhskaya, E. E. (2017). Local serotonin-immunoreactive plexus in the female eproductive system of hermaphroditic gastropod mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis. Invertebr. Zool. 41, 134–139. doi: 10.15298/invertzool.14.2.06

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Ivashkin, E., Khabarova, M. Y., Melnikova, V., Nezlin, L. P., Kharchenko, O., Voronezhskaya, E. E., et al. (2015). Serotonin mediates maternal effects and directs developmental and behavioral changes in the progeny of snails. Cell Rep. 12, 1144–1158. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.07.022

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Ivashkin, E., Melnikova, V., Kurtova, A., Brun, N. R., Obukhova, A., Khabarova, M. Y., et al. (2019). Transglutaminase activity determines nuclear localization of serotonin immunoreactivity in the early embryos of invertebrates and vertebrates. ACS Chem. Neurosci. 10, 3888–3899. doi: 10.1021/acschemneuro.9b00346

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Kawakami, K., Wada, S., and Chiba, S. (2008). Possible dispersal of land snails by birds. Ornithol. Sci. 7, 167–171. doi: 10.2326/1347-0558-7.2.167

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Kemenes, G., and Benjamin, P. R. (2009). Lymnaea. Curr. Biol 19, R9–R11. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.013

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Koene, J. M. (2010). Neuro-endocrine control of reproduction in hermaphroditic freshwater snails: mechanisms and evolution. Front. Behav. Neurosci. 4:167. doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2010.00167

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Maestripieri, D., and Mateo, J. M. (2009). Maternal Effects In Mammals. Chicago, IL: Univ. of Chicago Press, doi: 10.7208/chicago/9780226501222.001.0001

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Marshall, D. J., Allen, R. M., and Crean, A. J. (2008). “The ecological and evolutionary importance of maternal effects in the sea,” in Oceanography And Marine Biology: An Annual Review, Vol. 46, eds R. N. Gibson, R. J. A. Atkinson, and J. D. M. Gordon (Enfield, NH: Science Publishers), 203–250.

Google Scholar

Matsutani, T., and Nomura, T. (1986). Serotonin-like immunoreactivity in the central nervous system and gonad of the scallop, Patinopecten yessoensis. Cell Tissue Res. 2443, 515–517. doi: 10.1007/BF00212528

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Meshcheryakov, V. N. (1990). The common pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis. Anim. Species Dev. Stud. 69–132. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4613-0503-3_5

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Moroz, L. L., Romanova, D. Y., and Kohn, A. B. (2021). Neural versus alternative integrative systems: molecular insights into origins of neurotransmitters. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B Biol. Sci. 376, 20190762. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0762

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Moroz, L. L., Sudlow, L. C., Jing, J., and Gillette, R. (1997). Serotonin-immunoreactivity in peripheral tissues of the opisthobranch molluscs Pleurobranchaea californica and Tritonia diomedea. J. Comp. Neurol. 382, 176–188. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-9861(19970602)382:2<176::AID-CNE3<3.0.CO;2-0

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Morrill, J. B. (1982). “Development of the pulmonate gastropod, Lymnaea,” in Developmental Biology Of The Freshwater Invertebrates, eds F. W. Harrison and R. R. Cowden (New York, NY: Alan Liss), 399–483.

Google Scholar

Morrison, S. A., and Belden, J. B. (2016). Development of Helisoma trivolvis pond snails as biological samplers for biomonitoring of current-use pesticides. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 35, 2320–2329. doi: 10.1002/etc.3400

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Mousseau, T. A., and Fox, C. W. (1998). Maternal Effects as Adaptations. New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Press.

Google Scholar

Müller, C. P., and Cunningham, K. A. (2020). Handbook of the Behavioral Neurobiology Of Serotonin. Cambridge, MA: Academic Press.

Google Scholar

Muma, N. A., and Mi, Z. (2015). Serotonylation and transamidation of other monoamines. ACS Chem. Neurosci. 6, 961–969. doi: 10.1021/cn500329r

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Pilowsky, P. M. (2018). Serotonin in Central Cardiovascular Regulation. Amsterdam: Elsevier Inc, doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-800050-2.00016-4

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Rossiter, M. C. (1996). Incidence and consequences of inherited environmental effects. Annu. Rev Ecol. Syst. 27, 451–476. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.27.1.451

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Sakharov, D. (1990). “Integrative function of serotonin common to distantly related invertebrate animals,” in The Early Brain, eds M. Gustafsson and M. Reuter (Abo: Abo Akademi Press), 73–88.

Google Scholar

Schmidt-Rhaesa, A., Harzsch, S., and Purschke, G. (2016). Structure and Evolution of Invertebrate Nervous Systems. Struct. Evol. Invertebr. Nerv. Syst, 1 Edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 776. doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199682201.001.0001

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Sultan, S. E. (2015). Organism and environment. Ecological development, Niche Construction, And Adaptation. New York, NY: Oxford Univ. Press, doi: 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199587070.001.0001

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Svigruha, R., Fodor, I., Padisak, J., and Pirger, Z. (2020). Progestogen-induced alterations and their ecological relevance in different embryonic and adult behaviours of an invertebrate model species, the great pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. Int. doi: 10.1007/S11356-020-12094-Z

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Tierney, A. J. (2001). Structure and function of invertebrate 5-HT receptors: a review. Comparat. Biochem. Physiol. Part A Mol. Integrat. Physiol. 128, 791–804. doi: 10.1016/s1095-6433(00)00320-2

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Turlejski, K. (1996). Evolutionary ancient roles of serotonin: long-lasting regulation of activity and development. Acta Neurobiol. Exp. 56, 619–636.

Google Scholar

Uller, T. (2012). “Parental effects in development and evolution,” in The Evolution of Parental Care, eds N. J. Royle, P. T. Smiseth, and M. Kölliker (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.), 247–266.

Google Scholar

Uller, T., Wapstra, E., and Badyaev, A. V. (2009). Evolution of parental effects: conceptual issues and empirical patterns. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 365:1520.

Google Scholar

van Leeuwen, C. H. A., van, Velde, G., van der, Lith, B., and van Klaassen, M. (2012). Experimental quantification of long distance dispersal potential of aquatic snails in the gut of migratory birds. PLoS One 7:e32292. doi: 10.1371/JOURNAL.PONE.0032292

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Vitalis, T., Ansorge, M. S., and Dayer, A. G. (2013). Serotonin homeostasis and serotonin receptors as actors of cortical construction: special attention to the 5-HT3A and 5-HT6 receptor subtypes. Front. Cell. Neurosci. 7:93. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2013.00093

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Voronezhskaya, E. E., and Croll, R. P. (2015). “Mollusca: gastropoda,” in Structure and Evolution Of Invertebrate Nervous Systems, eds A. Schmidt-Rhaesa, S. Harzsch, and G. Purschke (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 196–221.

Google Scholar

Voronezhskaya, E. E., Glebov, K. I., Khabarova, M. Y., Ponimaskin, E. G., and Nezlin, L. P. (2008). Adult-to-embryo chemical signaling in the regulation of larval development in trochophore animals: cellular and molecular mechanisms. Acta Biol. Hung. 59, 117–122. doi: 10.1556/ABiol.59.2008.Suppl.19

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Voronezhskaya, E. E., Khabarova, M. Y., and Nezlin, L. P. (2004). Apical sensory neurones mediate developmental retardation induced by conspecific environmental stimuli in freshwater pulmonate snails. Development 131, 3671–3680. doi: 10.1242/dev.01237

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Voronezhskaya, E. E., Khabarova, M. Y., Chaban, A. K., and Nezlin, L. P. (2007). Role of chemical signalling in release of motor programs during embryogenesis of freshwater snails Lymnaea stagnalis and Helisoma trivolvis. Russ. J. Dev. Biol. 38, 66–75. doi: 10.1134/S1062360407020038

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Voronezhskaya, E. E., Khabarova, M. Y., Nezlin, L. P., and Ivashkin, E. G. (2012). Delayed action of serotonin in molluscan development. Acta Biol. Hung. 63(Suppl. 2), 210–216. doi: 10.1556/ABiol.63.2012.Suppl.2.28

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Walther, D. J., Peter, J. U., Winter, S., Holtje, M., Paulmann, N., Grohmann, M., et al. (2003). Serotonylation of small GTPases is a signal transduction pathway that triggers platelet alpha-granule release. Cell 115, 851–862. doi: 10.1016/S0092-8674(03)01014-6

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Keywords: adult-to-embryo chemical signaling, serotonylation, serotonin receptors, developmental dynamics, locomotion, oviposition activity

Citation: Voronezhskaya EE (2021) Maternal Serotonin: Shaping Developmental Patterns and Behavioral Strategy on Progeny in Molluscs. Front. Ecol. Evol. 9:739787. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2021.739787

Received: 12 July 2021; Accepted: 10 August 2021;
Published: 08 September 2021.

Edited by:

Takashi Koyama, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Reviewed by:

Jose Maria Martin-Duran, Queen Mary University of London, United Kingdom
Patricia Johnston Moore, University of Georgia, United States

Copyright © 2021 Voronezhskaya. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Elena E. Voronezhskaya, elena.voronezhskaya@idbras.ru

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.