A simple quantitative technique for testing behavioral responses of Schistosoma mansoni miracidia to chemicals.

We describe a new technique for testing responses of Schistosoma mansoni miracidia to chemicals. Miracidia in spring water were placed in a chamber shaped like the Greek letter phi. Small volumes of test chemicals were inoculated into one side of the chamber. After 30 sec a dam was inserted to bisect the chamber and the percentage of miracidia on the inoculated side was calculated. Reproducible quantitative results were obtained using the known miracidial stimulants, snail-conditioned water (Biomphalaria glabrata) and Mg2+; up to 80% of the miracidia were recovered on the inoculated side of the chamber. Other substances also stimulated miracidia: several inorganic cations, 4 neurotransmitters, 3 acetycholine antagonists, and 1 acetycholine agonist. Modifying the technique by testing stimulants in altered chemical "backgrounds" allowed us to test for inhibitors of miracidial responses. Assays of the Mg2+ content of several of the test solutions indicated that their stimulatory or inhibitory effects could not be ascribed to Mg2+ contamination. However, results obtained with neurotransmitters and drugs were not sufficiently consistent to implicate specific neurotransmitters in the mechanism by which miracidia detect and respond to stimulants in snail-conditioned water.