Frequency specificity of vibration dependent discharge of nematocysts in sea anemones

Hair bundles on tentacles of sea anemones are similar to vertebrate hair bundles in terms of structure and function. Anemone hair bundles are involved in regulating discharge of nematocysts, "stinging capsules," used to capture prey. N-acetylated sugars from the prey including N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA) induce hair bundles to elongate while shifting vibration dependent discharge of nematocysts to lower frequencies matching prey movements. In the present study, we find that vibration dependent discharge of nematocysts exhibits sharp frequency discrimination to within one Hz. Testing at one-Hz intervals over the range of frequencies spanning 1-75 Hz, we find that seven of these are stimulatory in seawater alone. A total of twenty-six frequencies are stimulatory in the presence of NANA. Stimulatory frequencies in NANA are lower than those in seawater alone. We find that antagonists of ryanodine receptors including ryanodine, procaine and tetracaine shift discharge to lower frequencies. Fluorescently tagged ryanodine labels numerous small loci in the apical cytoplasm of supporting cells. We propose that calcium induced calcium release (CICR) via ryanodine receptors may sharpen frequency specificity and/or cause shortening of hair bundles to shift frequency specificity to higher frequencies.