The possibleprincipal function of neurohypophysial hormones

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Acclimation from marine to dilute environments constitutes among the most dramatic evolutionary transitions in the history of life. Such adaptations have evolved in multiple lineages, but studies of the mechanisms are limited to those using evolutionarily advanced Deuterostome (chordates) and Ecdysozoa (crustaceans). Here we examined the body-fluid homeostasis in the advanced Lophotrochozoa/mollusc, the other unexplored taxa, and its possible regulations byvasopressin/oxytocin superfamily peptides known to be implicated in fluid homeostasis in Chordata and Arthropoda. The hemolymph osmotic and ionic status in the euryhaline cephalopod (Octopus ocellatus) following transfer from normal seawater (30 ppt) to low (20 ppt) salinity indicate the hyperosmo- and hyperiono-regulatory abilities for more than 1 week, as in crustaceans and teleost fish. While ventilation frequency decreased by 1 day, Na+/K+-ATPase activity, which has been implicated in ion transport generally, was induced in two of the eight posterior gills after 1 week. Furthermore, the octopuses were intravenously injected with 1 or 100 ng/g octopressin or cephalotocin, cephalopod vasopressin/oxytocin orthologs. After 1 day, octopressin, not cephalotocin, decreased the hemolymph osmolality and Ca concentrations as well as urinary Na concentrations. These data provide evidence for convergent evolution in the hyper-ionoregulatory mechanisms and the coordination by conserved molecules.