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Cytology and Cytogenetics

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Water Bears: The Biology of Tardigrades

Part of the book series: Zoological Monographs ((ZM,volume 2))

Abstract

Several cytological aspects have been considered in tardigrades. Firstly, the cell constancy which is not a true eutely being several mitoses present even after hatching, even though some organs, such epidermis and nervous ganglia, have the same cell number in juveniles and adults. The total number of these cells is species-specific. Then the ultrastructure of cuticle, epidermis, feeding and digestive apparatus, excretory and osmoregulatory organs, muscles, nerve cells, sensory cells and storage cells has been considered. Instead, the ultrastructure of the germ cells has been considered in the chapter on reproduction. With regard to chromosome number and shape, it has been observed that generally there is little difference among the species (n = 5 or n = 6), but several cases of polyploid populations exist, often very similar to diploid populations from a morphological point of view. In most cases the polyploid populations do not have males and reproduce by apomixis. Studies on the genome size have confirmed the presence of polyploid populations, as well as the presence of nuclei with multiple amounts of DNA within the same specimen. The genome size of the tardigrades is always relatively small and does not seem related to phylogenetic lineages. Studies on tardigrade genomes have placed this phylum at the centre of discussions on the evolution of Metazoa and have considered the role of horizontal gene transfer in animal evolution with contrasting results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Education and Humanities, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    Roberto Bertolani

  2. Civic Museum of Natural History, Verona, Italy

    Roberto Bertolani

  3. Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

    Lorena Rebecchi

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  1. Roberto Bertolani
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  2. Lorena Rebecchi
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Correspondence to Roberto Bertolani .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biological Materials and Biomolecular Systems, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany

    Ralph O. Schill

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Bertolani, R., Rebecchi, L. (2018). Cytology and Cytogenetics. In: Schill, R. (eds) Water Bears: The Biology of Tardigrades. Zoological Monographs, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95702-9_6

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