Histological and ultrastructural studies of the basal disk of Hydra

Summary

The glandulomuscular cells of Hydra are located exclusively in the basal disk. They are derived from epithelio-muscular cells which have been forced proximally. Light and electron microscopical studies show that prior to their destruction and elimination, the transformed epithelio-muscular cells (i.e. the glandulomuscular cells) undergo certain striking morphological and physiological changes. Golgi complexes and elements of rough E. R. increase remarkably in activity, and individually or jointly produce at least six types of morphologically different droplets. One additional type of droplet is thought to originate from neighboring digestive cells. Although the chemical nature of the individual droplets is uncertain, it is known that some are Alcian blue and PAS positive and contain hyaluronic acid. These evidences suggest the presence of an acid mucopolysaccharide material, the adhesive agent which attaches the animal to a substrate. The myonemes contain thick (200 Å in diameter) and thin (60 Å in diameter) filaments as in epithelio-muscular cells. There are also filaments of intermediate sizes and large fibers (770 Å in diameter). The myonemes are oriented radially with respect to the aboral pore and therefore in addition to contributing to the contraction and relaxation of the body column, they apparently regulate the opening and closing of the aboral pore. Although there is no evidence to substantiate the mechanism for transformation of epithelio-muscular cells to glandulomuscular cells as well as cell death of the latter cell types, these problems are discussed briefly.