The pigmentary system of developing axolotls

Development ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-142
Author(s):  
S. K. Frost ◽  
L. G. Epp ◽  
S. J. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Ambystoma Mexicanum ◽  
Pigment Cells ◽  
Similar Data ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Pteridine Biosynthesis ◽  
Development Proceeds ◽  
Chemical Evidence

The melanoid mutant in the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is analysed with respect to the differentiation of pigment cells. Pigment cells were observed with the transmission electron microscope in order to determine any unusual structural characteristics and to determine what happens to each of the cell types as development proceeds. Chemical analysis of pteridine pigments was also carried out, and changes in pteridine biosynthesis were found to correlate well with changes in xanthophore morphology and number. In melanoid axolotls, as development proceeds, melanophore numbers increase, xanthophores decrease, and iridophores fail to differentiate at all. This is considered to result from: (a) conversion of xanthophores (that are present in young larvae) to melanophores; (b) the gradual programming of the majority of chromatoblasts to become, exclusively, melanophores, and (c) the failure of some chromatoblasts (possibly iridoblasts) to differentiate altogether. The ultrastructural and chemical evidence presented in this study is compared to similar data for wild-type axolotls, and a mechanism regarding how the melanoid gene might act is suggested.

The pigmentary system of developing axolotls

Development ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 255-268
Author(s):  
S. K. Frost ◽  
L. G. Epp ◽  
S. J. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Ambystoma Mexicanum ◽  
Pigment Cells ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Yellow Pigments ◽  
First Time

The albino mutant in the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is analysed with respect to the differentiation of pigment cells. Pigment cells were observed with the transmission electron microscope in order to determine any unusual structural characteristics and to determine what happens to each of the cell types as development proceeds. Chemical analyses of pteridine pigments were also carried out, and the pattern of pteridines in albino animals was found to be more complex than, and quantitatively enhanced (at all developmental stages examined) over, the pattern observed in comparable wild-type axolotls. The golden colour of albino axolotls is due primarily to sepiapterin (a yellow pteridine) and secondarily to riboflavin (and other flavins). Coincident with enhanced levels of yellow pigments, xanthophore pigment organelles (pterinosomes) in albino skin reach a mature state earlier than they do in wild-type axolotl skin. This morphology is conserved throughout development in albino animals whereas it is gradually lost in the wild type. Unpigmented melanophores from albino axolotls are illustrated for the first time, and in larval albino axolotls the morphology of these cells is shown to be very similar to xanthophore morphology. In older albino animals xanthophores are easily distinguished from unpigmented melanophores. Iridophores seem to appear in albino skin at an earlier stage than they have been observed in wild-type skin. Morphologically, wild-type and albino iridophores are identical.

The pigmentary system of developing axolotls

Development ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-125
Author(s):  
S. K. Frost ◽  
L. G. Epp ◽  
S. J. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Pigment Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Ambystoma Mexicanum ◽  
Pigment Cells ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Cell Type ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Mutant Phenotypes

A biochemical and transmission electron microscopic description of the wild-type pigment phenotype in developing Mexican axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) is presented. There are three pigment cell types found in adult axolotl skin - melanophores, xanthophores and iridophores. Both pigments and pigment cells undergo specific developmental changes in axolotls. Melanophores are the predominant pigment cell type throughout development; xanthophores occur secondarily and in fewer numbers than melanophores; iridophores do not appear until well into the larval stage and remain thereafter as the least frequently encountered pigment cell type. Ultrastructural differences in xanthophore organelle (pterinosome) structure at different developmental stages correlate with changes in the pattern of pteridine biosynthesis. Sepiapterin, a yellow pteridine, is present in larval axolotl skin but not in adults. Ribofiavin (also yellow) is present in minimal quantities in larval skin and large quantities in adult axolotl skin. Pterinosomes undergo a morphological “reversion” at some point prior to or shortly after axolotls attain sexual maturity. Correlated with the neotenic state of the axolotl, certain larval pigmentary features are retained throughout development. Notably, the pigment cells remain scattered in the dermis such that no two pigment cell bodies overlap, although cell processes may overlap. This study forms the basis for comparison of the wild type pigment phenotype to the three mutant phenotypes-melanoid, axanthic and albino-found in the axolotl.

The pigmentary system of developing axolotls

Development ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-130
Author(s):  
S. K. Frost ◽  
L. G. Epp ◽  
S. J. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Electron Micrographs ◽  
Biosynthetic Pathway ◽  
Ambystoma Mexicanum ◽  
Pigment Cells ◽  
Transmission Electron Micrographs ◽  
Electron Microscopic ◽  
Mexican Axolotl ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Pteridine Biosynthesis

The axanthic mutant in the Mexican axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) was analysed with respect to the differentiation of pigment cells. Transmission electron micrographs revealed the presence of melanophores and cells that are described as unpigmented xanthophores in axanthic skin. Iridophores apparently failed to differentiate in axanthic axolotls (a pattern similar to that observed in melanoid axolotls). Chromatographic analyses of skin extracts confirmed that there are no pteridines (xanthophore pigments) in axanthic skin, suggesting that the axanthic gene may affect pteridine biosynthesis at some point early in the biosynthetic pathway. Why iridophores fail to differentiate in these animals is not known, but this, too, may be related to an inability to synthesize pigments properly. Xanthophore and iridophore pigments both presumably derive from purine precursors. Finally, all axanthic animals were found to be infected by a virus. Electron microscopic results demonstrated the presence of numerous macrophages in the dermis of the skin, occupying positions typical of pigment cells. The virus was localized primarily in macrophages, but was also observed in pigment cells. The virus is, as yet, uncharacterized but is thought to contribute to the low survivability of axanthic adults.

A High Resolution Study of G.P. Zones in Aluminum - 4.2 at % Silver

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 722-723 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Gronsky
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Transmission Electron Microscopy ◽  
High Resolution ◽  
Computer Simulations ◽  
Structural Characteristics ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Resolution Study

The phenomenon of clustering in Al-Ag alloys has been extensively studied since the early work of Guinierl, wherein the pre-precipitation state was characterized as an assembly of spherical, ordered, silver-rich G.P. zones. Subsequent x-ray and TEM investigations yielded results in general agreement with this model. However, serious discrepancies were later revealed by the detailed x-ray diffraction - based computer simulations of Gragg and Cohen, i.e., the silver-rich clusters were instead octahedral in shape and fully disordered, atleast below 170°C. The object of the present investigation is to examine directly the structural characteristics of G.P. zones in Al-Ag by high resolution transmission electron microscopy.

Cell Reactivity Pattern of the Guinea Pig Cecal Mucosa Evidenced by the ZIO Technique

1982 ◽  
Vol 40 ◽  
pp. 50-51
Author(s):  
Juan Mora-Galindo ◽  
Jorge Arauz-Contreras
Keyword(s):  
Guinea Pig ◽  
Phase Contrast ◽  
Osmium Tetroxide ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Cell Reactivity ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Neural Tissues ◽  
Maturation Stages ◽  
Zinc Iodide ◽  
Cecal Mucosa

The zinc iodide-osmium tetroxide (ZIO) technique is presently employed to study both, neural and non neural tissues. Precipitates depends on cell types and possibly cell metabol ism as well.Guinea pig cecal mucosa, already known to be composed of epithelium with cells at different maturation stages and lamina propria which i s formed by morphologically and functionally heterogeneous cell population, was studied to determine the pat tern of ZIO impregnation. For this, adult Guinea pg cecal mucosa was fixed with buffered 1.2 5% g 1 utara 1 dehyde before incubation with ZIO for 16 hours, a t 4°C in the dark. Further steps involved a quick sample dehydration in graded ethanols, embedding in Epon 812 and sectioning to observe the unstained material under a phase contrast light microscope (LM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM).

The structure of the gills of the axolotl, Ambystoma mexicanum

1987 ◽  
Vol 45 ◽  
pp. 824-825
Author(s):  
Mohinder S. Jarial
Keyword(s):  
Leydig Cells ◽  
Secretory Granules ◽  
Light And Electron Microscopy ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Ambystoma Mexicanum ◽  
Basal Cells ◽  
Granular Cells ◽  
Gill Filaments ◽  
Mitotic Figures ◽  
Apical Membranes

The axolotl is a strictly aquatic salamander in which the larval external gills are retained throughout life. The external gills of the adult axolotl have been studied by light and electron microscopy for ultrastructural evidence of ionic transport. The thin epidermis of the gill filaments and gill stems is composed of 3 cell types: granular cells, the basal cells and a sparce population of intervening Leydig cells. The gill epidermis is devoid of muscles, and no mitotic figures were observed in any of its cells.The granular cells cover the gill surface as a continuous layer (Fig. 1, G) and contain secretory granules of different forms, located apically (Figs.1, 2, SG). Some granules are found intimately associated with the apical membrane while others fuse with it and release their contents onto the external surface (Fig. 3). The apical membranes of the granular cells exhibit microvilli which are covered by a PAS+ fuzzy coat, termed “glycocalyx” (Fig. 2, MV).

scholarly journals Morphological and Ultrastructural Characterization of Hemocytes in an Insect Model, the Hematophagous Dipetalogaster maxima (Hemiptera: Reduviidae)

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 640
Author(s):  
Natalia R. Moyetta ◽  
Fabián O. Ramos ◽  
Jimena Leyria ◽  
Lilián E. Canavoso ◽  
Leonardo L. Fruttero
Keyword(s):  
Cell Biology ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Ultrastructural Characterization ◽  
Current Classification ◽  
Contrast Microscopy ◽  
First Time ◽  
Controversial Aspect

Hemocytes, the cells present in the hemolymph of insects and other invertebrates, perform several physiological functions, including innate immunity. The current classification of hemocyte types is based mostly on morphological features; however, divergences have emerged among specialists in triatomines, the insect vectors of Chagas’ disease (Hemiptera: Reduviidae). Here, we have combined technical approaches in order to characterize the hemocytes from fifth instar nymphs of the triatomine Dipetalogaster maxima. Moreover, in this work we describe, for the first time, the ultrastructural features of D. maxima hemocytes. Using phase contrast microscopy of fresh preparations, five hemocyte populations were identified and further characterized by immunofluorescence, flow cytometry and transmission electron microscopy. The plasmatocytes and the granulocytes were the most abundant cell types, although prohemocytes, adipohemocytes and oenocytes were also found. This work sheds light on a controversial aspect of triatomine cell biology and physiology setting the basis for future in-depth studies directed to address hemocyte classification using non-microscopy-based markers.

scholarly journals Microtubule–microtubule sliding by kinesin-1 is essential for normal cytoplasmic streaming in Drosophila oocytes

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (34) ◽  
pp. E4995-E5004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen Lu ◽  
Michael Winding ◽  
Margot Lakonishok ◽  
Jill Wildonger ◽  
Vladimir I. Gelfand
Keyword(s):  
Cytoplasmic Streaming ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Nurse Cells ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Actin Cortex ◽  
Microtubule Motor ◽  
Multiple Cell ◽  
Cytoplasmic Microtubules ◽  
Two Populations

Cytoplasmic streaming in Drosophila oocytes is a microtubule-based bulk cytoplasmic movement. Streaming efficiently circulates and localizes mRNAs and proteins deposited by the nurse cells across the oocyte. This movement is driven by kinesin-1, a major microtubule motor. Recently, we have shown that kinesin-1 heavy chain (KHC) can transport one microtubule on another microtubule, thus driving microtubule–microtubule sliding in multiple cell types. To study the role of microtubule sliding in oocyte cytoplasmic streaming, we used a Khc mutant that is deficient in microtubule sliding but able to transport a majority of cargoes. We demonstrated that streaming is reduced by genomic replacement of wild-type Khc with this sliding-deficient mutant. Streaming can be fully rescued by wild-type KHC and partially rescued by a chimeric motor that cannot move organelles but is active in microtubule sliding. Consistent with these data, we identified two populations of microtubules in fast-streaming oocytes: a network of stable microtubules anchored to the actin cortex and free cytoplasmic microtubules that moved in the ooplasm. We further demonstrated that the reduced streaming in sliding-deficient oocytes resulted in posterior determination defects. Together, we propose that kinesin-1 slides free cytoplasmic microtubules against cortically immobilized microtubules, generating forces that contribute to cytoplasmic streaming and are essential for the refinement of posterior determinants.

scholarly journals Platelet and Erythrocyte Extravasation across Inflamed Corneal Venules Depend on CD18, Neutrophils and Mast Cell Degranulation

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (14) ◽  
pp. 7360
Author(s):  
Angie De La Cruz ◽  
Aubrey Hargrave ◽  
Sri Magadi ◽  
Justin A. Courson ◽  
Paul T. Landry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mast Cell ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Mast Cell Degranulation ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Delayed Wound Healing ◽  
Corneal Epithelial ◽  
Corneal Abrasion ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Endothelial Pores

Platelet extravasation during inflammation is under-appreciated. In wild-type (WT) mice, a central corneal epithelial abrasion initiates neutrophil (PMN) and platelet extravasation from peripheral limbal venules. The same injury in mice expressing low levels of the β2-integrin, CD18 (CD18hypo mice) shows reduced platelet extravasation with PMN extravasation apparently unaffected. To better define the role of CD18 on platelet extravasation, we focused on two relevant cell types expressing CD18: PMNs and mast cells. Following corneal abrasion in WT mice, we observed not only extravasated PMNs and platelets but also extravasated erythrocytes (RBCs). Ultrastructural observations of engorged limbal venules showed platelets and RBCs passing through endothelial pores. In contrast, injured CD18hypo mice showed significantly less venule engorgement and markedly reduced platelet and RBC extravasation; mast cell degranulation was also reduced compared to WT mice. Corneal abrasion in mast cell-deficient (KitW-sh/W-sh) mice showed less venule engorgement, delayed PMN extravasation, reduced platelet and RBC extravasation and delayed wound healing compared to WT mice. Finally, antibody-induced depletion of circulating PMNs prior to corneal abrasion reduced mast cell degranulation, venule engorgement, and extravasation of PMNs, platelets, and RBCs. In summary, in the injured cornea, platelet and RBC extravasation depends on CD18, PMNs, and mast cell degranulation.

Ultrastructure of the female reproductive organs (ovary, vitellaria, and Mehlis' gland) of Halipegus eccentricus (Trematoda: Derogenidae)

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (10) ◽  
pp. 2203-2212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon M. Holy ◽  
Darwin D. Wittrock
Keyword(s):  
Cell Types ◽  
Reproductive Organs ◽  
Golgi Body ◽  
Digenetic Trematode ◽  
Secretory Cells ◽  
Cortical Granules ◽  
Golgi Bodies ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Vitelline Cells ◽  
Female Reproductive Organs

The female reproductive organs (ovary, vitellaria, and Mehlis' gland) of the digenetic trematode Halipegus eccentricus were studied by transmission electron microscopy. Oocytes entered diplotene while in the ovary and produced cortical granules and lipid bodies. Vitelline cells produced large amounts of eggshell protein but no yolk bodies. Two types of Mehlis' gland secretory cells were present, distinguishable by the morphology of their rough endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi bodies, and secretory bodies, and by the persistence of recognizable secretory material within the ootype lumen after exocytosis. In an attempt to standardize the nomenclature regarding the cell types of the Mehlis' gland, a classification that takes into account these four criteria is proposed. Two basic types of Golgi body organization were noted for the cells of the female reproductive system: a stack of flattened cisternae (Mehlis' gland alpha cells) and spherical Golgi bodies with vesicular cisternae (oocytes, vitelline cells, and Mehlis' gland beta cells).

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