Chemoreception in different organisms

Single-celled organisms

Many microorganisms are known to remain in favorable chemical environments and to disperse away from unfavorable environments. This implies that microorganisms have a chemical sense, but, because they are so small, they are unable to detect chemical gradients by simultaneous comparison of the chemical concentration at two parts of the body. Instead, microorganisms exhibit differential responses to temporal differences in concentration, implying that they have the capacity to “remember” whether the concentration previously experienced was higher or lower than the current concentration. Movement in these organisms consists of periods of movement in a straight line interrupted at intervals by a turn, or “tumble.” The organisms swim smoothly up the concentration gradient of an attractant and begin to accumulate in areas of high concentration of the attractant. Accumulation is reinforced by the organisms’ own secretion of attractant chemicals. Organisms that leave the aggregation tumble, and the direction of the turn and of the new path relative to the original appear to be random. The rate of tumbling varies, with organisms tumbling most in the absence of attractants and in the presence of repellents. Organisms that tumble away from an aggregation typically swim in a straight line back to the attractant. The bacterium Escherichia coli accumulates in high concentrations of sugars and some amino acids. This is also true of the ciliate protozoan Paramecium, which accumulates in areas with high concentrations of folate or biotin—compounds that are released by bacteria, the food of these animals. However, Paramecium disperses when it encounters quinine or potassium hydroxide.

As in multicellular organisms, perception of chemicals often involves the possession of receptor proteins in the cell membrane that activate second-messenger systems within the cell. However, unlike with multicellular organisms, the second messengers of single-celled organisms cause changes in the effector mechanisms of the cell, such as the flagellum or cilium, that modify the cell’s movement. This causes the organism to move appropriately, relative to the stimulus. The receptor proteins of the yeast Saccharomyces and the slime mold Dictyostelium both have seven transmembrane domains, similar to the olfactory receptors of higher organisms, although belonging to different gene families. However, in the bacterium E. coli the receptor proteins have only two transmembrane domains, perhaps reflecting the fact that bacteria, as prokaryotes (lacking distinct nuclei), predate the evolution of eukaryotes (having membrane-bound nuclei).

The number of different types of receptor proteins is limited in single-celled organisms compared with multicellular organisms. This appears to be the result of limited space available on the surface of a single cell. In E. coli there are five types of receptor proteins involved in positive responses. One receptor responds to serine, an amino acid (this receptor is also sensitive to temperature and pH); a second receptor responds to aspartate and ribose, an amino acid and a sugar, respectively; a third receptor responds to galactose and maltose, both sugars; a fourth receptor responds to dipeptides; and a fifth receptor responds to oxygen and changes in reduction-oxidation potential in the cell. Metallic ions, organic acids, inorganic acids, and glycerol produce negative responses, but it is not clear whether these molecules act via receptors or via an alternative mechanism. Paramecium has membrane receptor proteins that respond to favorable compounds such as biotin and to aversive compounds such as quinine. Several hundred of each receptor type are present on the cell surface, and they may be differentially distributed; for example, Paramecium has more quinine receptors at its front end than at its back end. In E. coli a difference in concentration producing a change in the occupancy of only a single receptor site is sufficient to produce a change in behavior.

In addition to receptor-mediated responses, environmental chemicals may act on intracellular processes by entering the cell. In bacteria, for example, sugars and some other compounds act intracellularly, and, in Paramecium, ammonium ions enter the cell as ammonia, changing the pH of the cytoplasm and affecting the membrane potential. Inside the cell these effects are integrated with effects produced via cell membrane receptors. Therefore, the overall effect in Paramecium is to change the cell membrane potential, with favorable stimuli causing slight hyperpolarization (the potential difference across the cell membrane is increased), which increases the frequency of ciliary beating and reduces the frequency with which the organism makes turns, and aversive substances producing slight depolarization (a reduction in the potential difference across the cell membrane). In flagellates, changes in flagellar movement do not depend on general membrane effects. In species with a single flagellum, changes in direction are induced by reversals in the direction of flagellar rotation from counterclockwise to clockwise. The several flagella of E. coli normally rotate counterclockwise, and, when the flagella all have the same rotation, they form a bundle that drives the organism in a straight path. However, when one or more flagella rotate in the opposite direction, the unity of the bundle is destroyed, and the bacterium tumbles.

Sperm of all animals are faced with the problem of locating an egg, whether the eggs are free in the environment, such as those released from sea urchins and toads, or are contained within the female ducts, such as the eggs of humans. In toads and humans, sperm have been shown to make directed movements toward eggs, and there is evidence that they move up the concentration gradient of a small protein released by the egg. In sea urchin sperm, comparable small proteins are detected by receptors in the cell membrane, and this is probably true of all species.