Molecular and Morphological Circuitry of the Octopus Sucker Ganglion

Abstract

The octopus sucker is a profoundly complex sensorimotor structure. Each of the hundreds of suckers that line the octopus arm can move independently or in concert with one another. These suckers also contain an intricate sensory epithelium, enriched with chemotactile receptors. Much of the massive nervous system embedded in the octopus arm mediates control of the suckers. Each arm houses a large axial nerve cord (ANC), which features local enlargements corresponding to each sucker. There is also a sucker ganglion, a peripheral nervous element, situated in the stalk of every sucker. The structure and function of the sucker ganglion remain obscure. We examined the cellular organization and molecular composition of the sucker ganglion in Octopus bimaculoides. The sucker ganglion has an ellipsoid shape and features an unusual organization: the neuropil of the ganglion is distributed as a cap aborally (away from the sucker) and a small pocket orally (toward the sucker), with neuronal cell bodies concentrated in the space between. Using in situ hybridization, we detected positive expression of sensory (PIEZO) and motor (LHX3 and MNX) neuron markers in the sucker ganglion cell bodies. Nerve fibers spread out from the sucker ganglion, targeting the surrounding sucker musculature and the oral roots extending to the ANC. Our results indicate that the sucker ganglion is composed of both sensory and motor elements and suggest that this ganglion is not a simple relay for the ANC, but facilitates local reflexes for each sucker.