Ultrastructural studies of the junctional complex in the musculature of the arrow-worm (Sagitta setosa) (Chaetognatha).

In the A fibres of the primary musculature of Sagitta, the junctional complex is made up of three kinds of junctions. From the apex to the base they occur in the following order: an apical zonula adherens, a columnar zonula then columnar maculae intermingled with gap junction. Each columnar junction joins two intracellular filament networks in adjacent cells; this cytoskeleton is largely developed around the nucleus of the A fibres and in close relation with the contractile apparatus, especially at the I band level. The B fibres, which never reach the general cavity, lack zonula adherens and columnar zonula. The columnar junction constitutes a new type of junction which seems to belong to the adherens kind. At their level fibrous columns cross the extracellular space, joining the membranes. Each column faces two cytoplasmic densities localized against the cytoplasmic leaflets of the membranes. A cytoskeleton composed of bunldes of cytoplasmic filaments is in close contact with these cytoplasmic densities. The great number of columnar junctions and associated cytoskeleton assure the cohesion of the tissue and the distribution of contractile forces in the absence of connective tissue. The abundance of gap junctions can account for the metabolic and ionic coupling of the fibres.