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Behavior of the yolk nuclei during embryogenesis, and development of the midgut diverticulum in the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus
Author(s) -
Kimble Mary,
Coursey Yvonne,
Ahmad Nina,
Hinsch Gertrude W.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
invertebrate biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.486
H-Index - 42
eISSN - 1744-7410
pISSN - 1077-8306
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7410.2002.tb00137.x
Subject(s) - horseshoe crab , biology , yolk , midgut , limulus , anatomy , embryogenesis , diverticulum (mollusc) , epithelium , organogenesis , embryo , hindgut , yolk sac , moulting , vitellogenesis , microbiology and biotechnology , zoology , larva , fishery , oocyte , ecology , evolutionary biology , biochemistry , genetics , gene
. Classical studies of horseshoe crab development have provided relatively little information about the earliest stages, and the contribution of yolk cells and yolk nuclei—a deficiency due in large part to the difficulty of preparing the eggs and embryos for sectioning. Using newly developed histological resins, we show that the yolk nuclei undergo a series of changes during embryogenesis, before cellularizing and forming the midgut epithelium during the first larval stage. The digestive diverticulum forms in a 2‐step process. A mesodermally derived lamina divides the yolk mass into distinct lobes, defining the boundaries of the digestive caeca. The yolk nuclei then cellularize to form the midgut epithelium.