Search results for "ascidian larvae"

The hydrophilie of the larval test of Ascidiae: functional role played by test cells

2012

Ascidian swimming larvae are entirely surrounded by a hyaline extracellular coat, called as tunic or test, on which numerous test cells adhere. The functional role played by test cells in larvae of various ascidian species consists in depositing submicroscopic structures known as ornaments and/or substances of proteoglycan nature in the larval test surface. The deposition of ornaments would render the larval test hydrophilic and thus allow the larvae to swim being immersed in sea water. Ultrastructural investigations reported in literature on larvae of Cionidae and Ascididae families have not evidenced the presence of ornaments in the swimming larval test. For these Ascididae families it ha…