Abstract
The study of the pharynx in the nematode Metarhabditis andrassyana (Tahseen et al. in Int J Nematol 14:163–168, 2004) revealed that the activity of pharynx declined with age and was also reduced in the absence of E.coli. A comparison between presence and absence of bacteria in the same age group revealed a reduction of pharyngeal pumping in both 2-day-old individuals and 8-day-old individuals. However, when nematodes were placed together in groups of varying numbers, pharyngeal pulsations declined as the numbers of specimens increased from 5 to 15 in the presence or absence of bacteria as a food source with age. In old worms, abnormalities were observed in the structure of the pharynx. Various structural changes occurred on the surface of the pharynx as well as in the lumen, tissues and the grinder. The deteriorative changes in the basal bulb reveal an involvement of almost all regions of the bulb—the outer surface, muscles and the grinder.
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HF conducted the experimental work and wrote the manuscript, while IA helped to develop the study design and with manuscript editing.
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Fatima, H., Ahmad, I. Effect of age on the structure and activity of the pharynx of the free-living nematode Metarhabditis andrassyana (Rhabditidae). Zoomorphology 142, 27–33 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-022-00581-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-022-00581-5