Department of Zoology, George S Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel.
PLoS One. 2012;7(2):e31902. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031902. Epub 2012 Feb 14.
Cnidarians are characterized by the presence of stinging cells containing nematocysts, a sophisticated injection system targeted mainly at prey-capture and defense. In the anthozoan subclass Octocorallia nematocytes have been considered to exist only in low numbers, to be small, and all of the ancestral atrichous-isorhiza type. This study, in contrast, revealed numerous nematocytes in the octocoral Heteroxenia fuscescens. The study demonstrates the applicability of cresyl-violet dye for differential staining and stimulating discharge of the nematocysts. In addition to the atrichous isorhiza-type of nematocysts, a novel type of macrobasic-mastigophore nematocysts was found, featuring a shaft, uniquely comprised of three loops and densely packed arrow-like spines. In contrast to the view that octocorals possess a single type of nematocyst, Heteroxenia fuscescens features two distinct types, indicating for the first time the diversification and complexity of nematocysts for Octocorallia.
刺胞动物的特征是具有刺细胞，这是一种复杂的注射系统，主要用于猎物捕捉和防御。在八放珊瑚亚纲中，人们认为刺细胞的数量很少，体积很小，而且都是原始的无纤毛同型刺细胞。相比之下，这项研究在八放珊瑚 Heteroxenia fuscescens 中发现了大量的刺细胞。研究证明了 Cresyl-Violet 染料在差异染色和刺激刺细胞排放方面的适用性。除了无纤毛同型刺细胞外，还发现了一种新型的大型碱性刺丝胞，其轴由三个环组成，且紧密排列着箭头状的刺。与八放珊瑚只有一种刺细胞类型的观点相反， Heteroxenia fuscescens 具有两种不同类型的刺细胞，这首次表明了八放珊瑚刺细胞的多样化和复杂性。
