Suppose you have new inhibitors of signalling enzymes in the sea slug, Aplysia c

Question

Suppose you have new inhibitors of signalling enzymes in the sea slug, Aplysia californica. You possess a protein phosphatase inhibitor that specifically inhibits the enzyme that dephosphorylates CREB. You also have a specific adenylyl cyclase inhibitor that blocks production of cyclic AMP. Suppose you fed a group of sea slugs phosphatase inhibitor pellets a few minutes before each “ training session” where you induce the sensitization of the gill withdrawal reflex. A second group of slugs gets fed the adenylyl cyclase inhibitor pellets. Finally, a third group of slugs are fed Fruity Pebbles (a breakfast cereal that resembles the pellets) as a control. Which group of slugs would form a long-term memory the fastest, i.e. become sensitized after the fewest repetitions of the routine? Which would be slowest to learn? Please explain. Suppose you have new inhibitors of signalling enzymes in the sea slug, Aplysia californica. You possess a protein phosphatase inhibitor that specifically inhibits the enzyme that dephosphorylates CREB. You also have a specific adenylyl cyclase inhibitor that blocks production of cyclic AMP. Suppose you fed a group of sea slugs phosphatase inhibitor pellets a few minutes before each “ training session” where you induce the sensitization of the gill withdrawal reflex. A second group of slugs gets fed the adenylyl cyclase inhibitor pellets. Finally, a third group of slugs are fed Fruity Pebbles (a breakfast cereal that resembles the pellets) as a control. Which group of slugs would form a long-term memory the fastest, i.e. become sensitized after the fewest repetitions of the routine? Which would be slowest to learn? Please explain.

Explanation / Answer

Group 1, which has the inhibitor for the protein phosphatase which specifically inhibits the enzyme for dephosphorylating CREB would have the fastest long-term memory as blocking dephosphorylation of CREB would keep the CREB protein in the phosphorylated state which is an active state for CREB protein and thus CREB could continuously recruit other transcriptional co-activators which can bind to the 5’ upstream region to the CRE promoter.
The third group/ control group would rank second as no inhibitors are used in this group. Thus, it will have the basal level of CREB signalling.
The second group which has been fed the adenylyl cyclase inhibitor would be the slowest to learn as cAMP is the main secondary messenger which in turn is responsible for activating the protein kinase which translocates into the nucleus and activates the CREB protein by phosphorylating it. If cAMP formation is inhibited,CREB protein can't be activated.

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