Final answer:
The ideal organism for studying the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is electric fish. Electric fish have electric organs containing abundant nicotinic receptors, making them excellent for analyzing receptor structure and function.
Step-by-step explanation:
The organism that provided an ideal system for the study of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor is electric fish. Among the options given, the electric fish, specifically the Torpedo ray (also referred to as electric rays), has been a valuable source for isolating and characterizing these receptors due to the abundance of nicotinic receptors in their electric organs. Scientists have leveraged this system to understand the structure and function of nicotinic receptors by analyzing the large amounts of receptor proteins that can be extracted from these organs.
Nicotinic receptors are a type of acetylcholine receptor protein that is characterized by also binding to nicotine and is an ionotropic receptor. These receptors are found at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) as well as in other synapses in the nervous system. They are ligand-gated cation channels that mediate fast synaptic transmission, distinguishing them from the G protein-coupled muscarinic acetylcholine receptors.
It's important to note that while other organisms such as frogs and E. coli might be used in scientific research for various purposes, the electric fish has been uniquely useful for studying the nicotinic receptor due to its specialized tissue that is rich in these receptors.