Whole-head recording of chemosensory activity in the marine annelidPlatynereis dumerilii

Chemical detection is key to various behaviours in both marine and terrestrial animals. Marine species, though highly diverse, have been underrepresented so far in studies on chemosensory systems, and our knowledge mostly concerns the detection of airborne cues. A broader comparative approach is therefore desirable. Marine annelid worms with their rich behavioural repertoire represent attractive models for chemosensory studies. Here, we study the marine worm Platynereis dumerilii to provide the first comprehensive study of head chemosensory organ physiology in an annelid. By combining microfluidics and calcium imaging, we record neuronal activity in the entire head of early juveniles upon chemical stimulation. We find that Platynereis uses four types of organs to detect stimuli such as alcohols, esters, amino acids and sugars. Antennae, but not nuchal organs or palps as generally hypothesised in annelids, are the main chemosensory organs. We report chemically-evoked activity in possible downstream brain regions including the mushroom bodies, which are anatomically and molecularly similar to insect mushroom bodies. We conclude that chemosensation is a major sensory modality for marine annelids, and propose early Platynereis juveniles as a model to study annelid chemosensory systems.