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When heads are not homologous: the coronae of larval and adult collothecid rotifers (Rotifera: Monogononta: Collothecaceae)

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Abstract

Rotifers are diverse and abundant aquatic micrometazoans that rely on their ciliated apical end (corona) for locomotion and feeding. In order Collothecaceae, which includes mostly sessile species, larval rotifers go through a complex metamorphosis after settlement wherein they replace their corona with an unusual cup-shaped head that functions exclusively in food capture. This new head, called the infundibulum, consists of morphological elaborations such as lobes or tentacles that develop precociously in the larval stage; in adults they function in ambush and sit-and-wait predation. Here, we provide evidence from brightfield and transmission electron microscopy that the infundibulum of collothecid rotifers is derived from the larval foregut and not the larval corona, suggesting that the adult head of collothecids is a morphological novelty and therefore not homologous with the rotifer corona as classically defined. The wide variety of morphologies of the infundibulum suggests that selection to maximize foraging may have driven the evolution of head form in these sessile species, and that future studies of collothecid rotifers should consider the infundibulum as a unique form of food-collection device that is evolutionarily distinct from the rotifer corona.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the editors and anonymous reviewers that provided valuable recommendations to improve this manuscript. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to RH (DEB 1257110), EJW (DEB 1257068), and RLW (DEB 1257116); and the National Institutes on Minority Health and Health Disparities (2G12MD007592), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)]. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF and NIH.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA, USA

    Rick Hochberg & Hui Yang

  2. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA, USA

    Adele Hochberg

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Texas at El Paso, 500 W. University Ave., El Paso, TX, 79968, USA

    Elizabeth J. Walsh

  4. Department of Biology, Ripon College, Ripon, WI, USA

    Robert L. Wallace

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Correspondence to Rick Hochberg.

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Guest editors: Steven A. J. Declerck, Diego Fontaneto, Rick Hochberg & Terry W. Snell / Crossing Disciplinary Borders in Rotifer Research

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Hochberg, R., Yang, H., Hochberg, A. et al. When heads are not homologous: the coronae of larval and adult collothecid rotifers (Rotifera: Monogononta: Collothecaceae). Hydrobiologia 844, 191–207 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-018-3760-3

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