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FORMATION OF JOINED LARVAE IN THE STARFISH, ASTERINA PECTINIFERA
Author(s) -
DANSOHKAWA MARINA
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
development, growth and differentiation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.864
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1440-169X
pISSN - 0012-1592
DOI - 10.1111/j.1440-169x.1977.00233.x
Subject(s) - starfish , blastula , larva , biology , human fertilization , multicellular organism , sea urchin , insemination , embryo , zoology , botany , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , cell , gastrulation , sperm , embryogenesis , ecology , genetics
A method for joining larvae in the starfish, Asterina pectinifera , is presented. Any number of embryos are stably united by simple contact of the cell clusters (descendents of individual denuded eggs) before reaching the early blastula stage (ca. 6 1/2 hr after insemination at 21°C). Embryos do not combine with each other after closing into hollow blastulae. This is considered to indicate the transformation of the cell cluster from a mere collection of cells to an individual, multicellular system. Biological meanings of the fertilization membrane are discussed.