Immunohistochemical localization of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine) in the gonad and digestive gland of Mya arenaria (Mollusca: Bivalvia)

Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine or 5-HT) C10H12N2O plays a central role in several physiological processes in marine molluscs, especially in reproduction. 5-HT acts as a neurohormone to modulate spawning, parturition and meiosis by reinitiating prophase in arrested oocytes. Preliminary experiments using 10−5 M 5-HT dissolved in aquarium water showed that 5-HT induced spawning movements in ripe clams and in both sexes of Mya arenaria while only a few males released sperm. The occurrence of serotoninergic fibers was demonstrated by PAP immunohistochemical reaction in the gonad of both sexes during gametogenesis. In an organism infected by the trematode parasite Prosorhynchus squamatus, we showed that serotoninergic innervation completely disappeared around the gonad’s follicles. Although the gonad and digestive gland are intertwined, no serotoninergic innervations were found in the digestive gland. These findings suggest, for the first time to our knowledge in the soft shell clam, that serotonin might be involved in the regulation of gametogenesis.