Cephalopod tropomyosins: Identification as major allergens and molecular cloning

Heated extracts prepared from the mantle muscles (for decapods) or leg muscles (for octapods) of nine species of cephalopods were shown to be all reactive with serum IgE in crustacean-allergic patients. No marked difference in the reactivity with IgE was recognized among the cephalopods, suggesting that they are almost equally allergenic. Immunoblotting and inhibition immunoblotting data revealed that the major allergen is tropomyosin in common with the nine species of cephalopods and that the cephalopod tropomyosins are cross-reactive with one another and also with crustacean tropomyosins. Molecular cloning experiments first elucidated the primary structures of tropomyosins from five species of cephalopods. The cephalopod tropomyosins show high sequence identity (more than 92% identity) with one another, being the molecular basis for their cross-reactivity. Although the sequence identity between cephalopod and crustacean topomyosins is only about 63–64%, some of the IgE-binding epitopes proposed for brown shrimp Penaeus aztecus tropomyosin (Pen a 1) are well conserved in the cephalopod tropomyosins, supporting the cross-reactivity between cephalopod and crustacean tropomyosins.     

Geographic, seasonal and ontogenetic variation in cadmium and mercury concentrations in squid (Cephalopoda: Teuthoidea) from UK waters

Cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) levels were measured in the tissue samples of two loliginid (Alloteuthis sp. and Loligo forbesi) and two ommastrephid (Todarodes sagittatus and Todaropsis eblanae) squid species collected from research cruise and fishery (market) samples in UK waters during 2004–05. Concentrations of Cd were generally higher in the ommastrephids, in all tissues except muscle. Hg concentrations were higher in T. sagittatus than in the loliginids. In L. forbesi, metal concentrations differed between tissues and also varied in relation to body size, geographic origin, and season. Cd levels decreased with increasing body size. This may be related to a shift in the diet with growth, since small L. forbesi feed on benthic invertebrates that have relatively high Cd concentrations, whereas larger individuals prey mainly on fish that have low Cd concentrations. Hg levels increased with body size, indicating its retention, and they were highest at the end of the spawning season and in squid from the English Channel and the Scottish West Coast. It is likely that the ambient concentration of Hg in seawater plays an important part in its accumulation in squid tissues. As it is a short-lived species, L. forbesi may therefore function as a bioindicator species for Hg contamination of the marine environment. Our results indicate that there is no significant danger to humans from consuming squid from UK waters.     

Lack of polarization optomotor response in the cuttlefish Sepia elongata (d'Orbigny, 1845)

Polarization sensitivity is a characteristic of the visual system of cephalopods. In cuttlefish, it has been particularly well documented in Sepia officinalis. We examined the response of a little studied cuttlefish species, S. elongata, towards a moving, vertically-oriented grating (contrasting and polarized stripes) using an optomotor response apparatus. We also examined the arrangement of the photoreceptors in the retina. Cuttlefish responded to patterns of contrasting stripes but not to a pattern of polarized stripes, although the optical structures that could allow polarization sensitivity were found in their retinas. These results suggest that intensity information and polarization information are perceived differently by cuttlefish.