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Biol Bull 155: 317-335. (October 1978)
© 1978 Marine Biological Laboratory
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GUT ULTRASTRUCTURE AND DIGESTIVE PHYSIOLOGY OF TWO MARINE NEMATODES, CHROMADORINA GERMANICA (BÜTSCHLI, 1874) AND DIPLOLAIMELLA SP

ALICE DEUTSCH 1

1 Department of Biology, City College of New York, New York, New York 10031

1. A comparative study has been made of gut ultrastructure, ingestion and digestion of a variety of foods by two salt marsh nematodes: Chromadorina germanica and Diplolaimella sp.

2. Diplolaimella sp. has a small, unarmoured buccal cavity. It has a complex esophageal-intestinal valve that consists of muscle and gland-like cells. The intestinal cells are of two types: the anterior four cells are secretory and the remaining cells are absorptive. There are unusual microvilli lining the luminal borders of these cells that contain a cisterna along the central axis that is continuous with the cisterna of the endoplasmic reticulm. An unusual, structurally complex, fibrillar matrix lines the luminal cell borders. An amoeba is found residing in the intestinal lumen wherever food is present.

3. Chromadorina germanica has a larger buccal cavity with two sets of three teeth. The intestine consists of secretory cells that are periodically sloughed off into the intestinal lumen. These cells have a variety of cell inclusions.

4. The process of digestion is described for each species. Diplolaimella sp. ingests whole cells or large cell fragments. Digestion begins chemically in the intestinal lumen with secretions from the esophageal gland cells and esophageal-intestinal valve cells. It is completed intracellularly in the intestinal cell pigment granules, which are demonstrated to be lysosomes.

5. C. germanica pierces its food and ingests the cell contents. Digestion continues in the intestinal lumen with secretions from the esophageal gland cells and the intestinal cells. Digestion is completed intracellularly in a variety of lysosomes.

6. Diplolaimella sp. ingests whole bacteria and small chlorophytes and large cell fragments of the larger chlorophytes. It does not ingest diatoms. C. germanica ingests the cell contents of diatoms and large chlorophytes but does not ingest small chlorophytes or bacteria.






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Copyright © 1978 by the Marine Biological Laboratory.