G-protein alpha subunits distribution in the cyprid of Balanus amphitrite (=Amphibalanus amphitrite) (Cirripedia, Crustacea)

The acorn barnacle Balanus amphitrite is a marine crustacean with six nauplius and one cyprid larval stages and a sessile adult, that represent one of the main constituents of sea biofouling. The cyprid is the last larval stage, specialized for settlement, and the study of its biology is interesting also in the frame of antifouling strategies. In this study, a novel approach to the neurobiology of B. amphitrite cyprid has undertaken, studying immunohistochemically the distribution of some G-protein α subunits (Gαs, Gαo Gαi, and Gαq) on B. amphitrite cyprid. Gαs-like immunoreactivity was observed in the intestinal mucosa, oral cone, epithelial cells along the outer face of the mantle and thorax; Gαo into the fibers of the neuropile of the central nervous system; Gαi in oil cells, epithelial cells, and limbs and thorax muscles; Gαq was not detected. The results suggest the involvement of the G-protein α subunits in different tissues and functions that seem to be in agreement with the distribution of the ones from the same class of G-proteins in vertebrates.