The Evolution of the Octopus Sensory Receptors

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The receptors they identified, which they call chemotactile receptors or CRs, didn't look like the kind of receptors usually seen in sensory systems. They're most closely related to a family of receptors called nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. These are found throughout the nervous systems of many different animals but usually they detect neurotransmitters within the body and are involved with things like controlling muscle contractions. In humans, they're the focus of research into treatments for everything from Parkinson's disease to nicotine addiction,. But they are not sensory receptors, or so researchers thought. Octopus have converted these ancestral nicotinic AcetylCholine receptors into sensory receptors.

00:44 The unusual receptors that let octopuses hunt by touch

Researchers have shown that the suckers of octopuses are covered with specialised receptors that allow them to taste by touching things. Similar receptors are also found in squid, but there are differences that mirror differences in the animals’ hunting behaviours; while octopuses feel for their prey, squid pull things towards themselves before deciding whether or not to eat it.

Research article: Kang et al.

Research article: Allard et al.

Nature video: How octopuses taste with their arms

08:48 Research Highlights

How climate change has been linked to a devastating avalanche in the Italian Alps, and evidence of hallucinogenic drug use in prehistoric Europe.

Research Highlight: A glacier’s catastrophic collapse is linked to global warming

Research Highlight: Hair buried in a cave shows hallucinogen use in ancient Europe

11:31 Briefing Chat

We discuss some highlights from the Nature Briefing. This time, what climate scientists can learn from medieval descriptions of lunar eclipses; how to retrieve rock samples from the surface of Mars; and the ongoing debate about whether T. rex had lips.

Nature News: Medieval accounts of eclipses shine light on massive volcanic eruptions

Nature News: Mars rocks await a ride to Earth — can NASA deliver?

Nature News: Facelift for T. rex: analysis suggests teeth were covered by thin lips