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Morphological Deviations in Ephyrae after Chemical Induction of Strobilation in Aurelia aurita (Scyphozoa, Cnidaria)

  • DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY OF ANIMALS (INVERTEBRATES AND VERTEBRATES)
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Abstract

Aurelia aurita is a representative of Scyphozoa, one of the classes of Cnidaria, the development and life cycle of which are quite well studied. In recent years, A. aurita has often been used as an object of studying the processes of cnidarian development, including a specific variant of asexual reproduction by strobilation, the formation of ephyrae (jellyfish larvae) due to the transverse fission of the polyp. In most cases, a prolonged decrease in temperature acts as a natural trigger for the initiation of strobilation. The need for prolonged induction and the unpredictability of the result makes it difficult to work with this model object. Therefore, for the induction of strobilation in laboratory conditions, various synthetic chemical compounds, the structure of which is close to that of the alleged “strobilation hormone,” are often used. This paper presents data on the detected deviations in the process of the separation of ephyrae in their external morphology in case of induction of strobilation by 5-methoxy-2-methylindole in A. aurita in laboratory conditions. For the first time, the deviations in the morphology of ephyrae observed in the experiment were compared with the deviations in the morphology of ephyrae and jellyfish from natural populations described in the literature. It is suggested that chemical induction leads to an increase in the frequency of morphological deviations in the ephyrae formed during the strobilation process based on the disorder of spatial patterning and the processes of differentiation of the rudiments.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The study of samples using a scanning electron microscope was carried out in the Electron Microscopy Laboratory, Biological Faculty, Moscow State University. The authors express their gratitude to the reviewers for meaningful comments and recommendations that helped to improve this work significantly.

Funding

The work was carried out with the financial support of Education Center Sirius and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 19-315-51015). Obtaining and maintenance of cultures of scyphopolypes was supported by the project of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research no. 19-04-01131a.

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  1. Educational Center Sirius, 354349, Sochi, Russia

    P. S. Mostovshchikova

  2. Moscow State University, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    D. M. Saidov & I. A. Kosevich

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  1. P. S. Mostovshchikova
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Contributions

P.S. Mostovshikova and I.A. Kosevich designed and developed the experiment, P.S. Mostovshikova conducted the main experimental study, D.M. Saidov conducted statistical data analysis, P.S. Mostovshchikova and I.A. Kosevich conducted a microscopic examination of the samples. P.S. Mostovshchikova and I.A. Kosevich participated in the preparation of the manuscript. All the authors participated in the discussion of results, preparation of illustrations, and editing of the final version of the manuscript. All the authors approved the final version.

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Correspondence to P. S. Mostovshchikova.

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Statement on the welfare of animals. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional principles for the use of animals in experiments and conditions of animal care have been met.

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Translated by A. Ermakov

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Mostovshchikova, P.S., Saidov, D.M. & Kosevich, I.A. Morphological Deviations in Ephyrae after Chemical Induction of Strobilation in Aurelia aurita (Scyphozoa, Cnidaria). Russ J Dev Biol 53, 82–98 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1062360422020084

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