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Formation of the digestive tract in Ciona intestinalis includes two distinct morphogenic processes between its anterior and posterior parts
Author(s) -
Nakazawa Keiichi,
Yamazawa Takumi,
Moriyama Yuuta,
Ogura Yosuke,
Kawai Narudo,
Sasakura Yasunori,
Saiga Hidetoshi
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/dvdy.24009
Subject(s) - ciona intestinalis , biology , endoderm , anatomy , morphogenesis , digestive tract , ciona , microbiology and biotechnology , embryonic stem cell , medicine , genetics , gene
Background: In the ascidian Ciona intestinalis , the digestive tract, an essential system for animals, develops during metamorphosis from the two primordial tissues, the endoderm and endodermal strand, located in the larval trunk and tail, respectively. However, it has been largely unknown how the digestive tract develops from these primordial tissues. We examined the metamorphosing larvae for the tubular formation of the digestive tract, focusing on the epithelial organization of the endoderm, by combined confocal microscopy and computational rendering. Results: The tubular structure of the esophagus to the stomach was formed through the folding and closure of the endodermal epithelia in the central‐to‐right posterior trunk. By contrast, the intestine was formed in the left posterior trunk through the accumulation and rearrangement of the cells originated from the endodermal strand. This was confirmed by the cell‐tracing experiment using Kaede expression construct driven in the endodermal strand. Thus, the tubular formation of the digestive tract in C. intestinalis includes distinct morphogenetic processes and cell lineages between its anterior and posterior parts. Conclusion: This study provides the first detailed description of the digestive tract morphogenesis in C. intestinalis and serves as an important basis toward thorough understanding of its digestive tract development. Developmental Dynamics, 242:1172–1183, 2013 . © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.