The miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (MEPCs) of the muscle cells of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris were recorded by glass microelectrodes. In a single synaptic zone, three types of MEPC were recorded: a fast single-exponential type that decayed with τ =0.9 ms, a slow single-exponential with τ = 9.2 ms and a two-exponential MEPC with τ = 1.3 and 8.5 ms, respectively. The muscle cel...

Many soft-bodied invertebrates use a flexible, fluid-filled hydrostatic skeleton for burrowing. The aim of our study was to compare the scaling and morphology between surface-dwelling and burrowing earthworm ecotypes to explore the specializations of non-rigid musculoskeletal systems for burrowing locomotion. We compared the scaling of adult lumbricid earthworms across species and ecotypes to d...

The dissociation of the extracellular hemoglobin of the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris was investigated. At neutral pH, its sz00,~ = 58.9 f 0.2 S and D:o,w = 1.61 f 0.05 X 1O-7 cm2 s-l corresponded to a molecular weight of 3.23 f 0.18 x 106. A minimum molecular weight of 24,000 per heme group was determined from the iron and heme contents, 0.221 f 0.011 weight % and 2.78 =k 0.14 weight %, respe...

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are contaminants of interest due to their known toxic effects. PAHs may interfere with physiological and biochemical activities soil organisms like Lumbricus terrestris. metabolites have been employed in the assessment external exposure metabolic activation. Thus, this study investigates antioxidant stress markers terrestris which is a recognized bioindic...