Comparative Mapping of GABA-Immunoreactive Neurons in the Buccal Ganglia of Nudipleura Molluscs

Phylogenetic comparisons of neurotransmitter distribution are important for understanding the ground plan organization of nervous systems. This study describes the γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-immunoreactive (GABA-ir) neurons in the buccal ganglia of six sea slug species (Mollusca, Gastropoda, Euthyneura, Nudipleura). In the nudibranch species, Hermissenda crassicornis, Tritonia diomedea, Tochuina tetraquetra, and Dendronotus iris, the number of GABA-ir neurons was highly consistent. Another nudibranch, Melibe leonina, however, contained approximately half the number of GABA-ir neurons. This may relate to its loss of a radula and its unique feeding behavior. The GABA immunoreactivity in a sister group to the nudibranchs, Pleurobranchaea californica, differed drastically from that of the nudibranchs. Not only did it have significantly more GABA-ir neurons but it also had a unique GABA distribution pattern. Furthermore, unlike the nudibranchs, the Pleurobranchaea GABA distribution was also different from that of other, more distantly related, euopisthobranch and panpulmonate snails and slugs. This suggests that the Pleurobranchaea GABA distribution may be a derived feature, unique to this lineage. The majority of GABA-ir axons and neuropil in the Nudipleura were restricted to the buccal ganglia, commissures, and connectives. However, in Tritonia and Pleurobranchaea, we detected a few GABA-ir fibers in buccal nerves that innervate feeding muscles. Although the specific functions of the GABA-ir neurons in the species in this study are not known, the innervation pattern suggests these neurons may play an integrative or regulatory role in bilaterally coordinated behaviors in the Nudipleura.