Reexamination of hemocytes in brine shrimp (Crustacea, Branchiopoda)

In 1941, a single type of hemocyte was described in the blood of the brine shrimp Artemia salina using light microscopy. This condition is unusual because most crustaceans examined using morphological, cytochemical, and functional methods have at least two types of hemoctyes. Upon examining A. franc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of morphology (1931) 1999-12, Vol.242 (3), p.283-294
Main Authors: Martin, Gary G., Lin, Han-Ming Joseph, Luc, Chau
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Artemia - cytology
Artemid
Bacteria
brine shrimp
Cell Adhesion - physiology
Crustacea
Cytoplasmic Granules - ultrastructure
hemocytes
Hemocytes - cytology
Hemocytes - enzymology
Hemocytes - ultrastructure
Microscopy, Electron
Monophenol Monooxygenase - metabolism
Phagocytosis - physiology
Pseudopodia - physiology
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Summary:In 1941, a single type of hemocyte was described in the blood of the brine shrimp Artemia salina using light microscopy. This condition is unusual because most crustaceans examined using morphological, cytochemical, and functional methods have at least two types of hemoctyes. Upon examining A. franciscana, we found a single type of disk‐shaped hemocyte, with a centrally located nucleus and about 15 large (6 μm diameter) granules. The granules stain for the presence of acid phosphatase and react with L‐DOPA suggesting, respectively, that they are involved in degrading ingested material and possess the phenoloxidase system. Hemocytes require calcium for adhesion, bind together to mend small wounds in the body wall, and are able to phagocytose bacteria. Blood cells of A. franciscana are morphologically and functionally similar to those of the primitive chelicerate, Limulus polyphemus, and both forms have apparently given rise to more advanced taxa with multiple types of hemocytes. The major difference between the two species is the presence of the phenoloxidase system in the Crustacea and its apparent absence in the chelicerates. J. Morphol. 242:283–294, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
ISSN:0362-2525
1097-4687
DOI:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4687(199912)242:3<283::AID-JMOR7>3.0.CO;2-#