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J A van den Biggelaar

Publications and source records attributed to J A van den Biggelaar.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Cleavage patterns, cell-lineages and cell specification are clues to phyletic lineages in Spiralia.

Embryos of molluscs, annelids, nemerteans and platyhelminthes show remarkable intra- and interphyletic resemblances and differences in mesentoblast, dorso-ventral axis and trochoblast specification. These variations have been used to investigate their evolutionary relationship. In molluscs and annelids a heterochronic shift parallels evolutionary relations based on adult characters. Nemerteans and platyhelminthes lack trochal cells and differ in the specification of the mesodermal precursor cell. Nemerteans also differ fundamentally with respect to axis specification related to the first cleavage. Therefore, close phylogenetic relations exist between molluscs and annelids, whereas nemerteans and platyhelminthes are only remotely related with each other and with molluscs and annelids.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

Cleavage pattern and mesentoblast formation in Acanthochiton crinitus (Polyplacophora, Mollusca).

In characteristic spiralian embryos the mesentoblast is the stem cell of the mesodermal bands. It is a derivative of the dorsal quadrant. At least in gastropod molluscs, the ancestral form for the specification of the dorsal quadrant out of four initially equal quadrants is by centralization of one of the four macromeres after the separation of the presumptive ecto- and entoblast cells. Then this macromere is induced by the animal micromeres to produce the mesentoblast. In this paper it is shown that in the embryo of the polyplacophoran Acanthochiton crinitus, specification of the dorsal quadrant and formation of the mesentoblast exactly follow the same pattern. After deletion of the first quartet of micromeres none of the macromeres is centralized, no mesentoblast is formed, and the embryo remains radially symmetrical. Apparently, the mechanism for the specification of the dorsal quadrant and the formation of the mesentoblast has been conserved during the evolution of the main molluscan taxa. It has been discussed whether this mechanism might be a plesiomorphous property, characteristic of less derived spiralian phyla.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Asymmetries during molluscan embryogenesis.

In some molluscan species the unfertilized egg is symmetrical around its centre. The maturation divisions provide the egg with an axial symmetry with an animal-vegetal asymmetry. During the first two cleavages the egg loses its axial symmetry by the formation of unequal quadrants. The size differences may be very pronounced in species where the first two cleavages are accompanied by the formation of a polar lobe or where the first two cleavages are very unequal. There are some molluscan species in which at first glance the four quadrants appear equal. Exact measurements of the relative volumes have shown that the spiral character of the cleavages gives rise to minor differences between the quadrants. During further division this difference is limited to the vegetal macromeres; other corresponding blastomeres in the four quadrants are mutually equal. Therefore the absolute difference between the macromeres increases after each division. The size difference between the macromeres predisposes the biggest macromere to attain a central position and to become induced to develop the stem cell of the mesoderm. The bilateral symmetry is later lost by the counterclockwise rotation through 180 degrees of the visceral mass in relation to the head and foot.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Is a mosaic embryo also a mosaic of communication compartments?

We have studied the pathways of cell communication in embryos of the mollusc Lymnaea stagnalis in which the developmental fate of a cell or a group of cells is known from cell lineage studies. We iontophoretically injected Lucifer Yellow CH and followed the spread of fluorescence between cells interconnected via gap junctions. In early stages all blastomeres appear to be dye-coupled, but later on communication is restricted within compartments. The pattern of cell communication corresponds with the development of compartments with specific cell fates. Dye-spread is limited by communication boundaries which completely or mostly prevent the passage of dye to adjacent compartments with different developmental fates. These boundaries appear progressively during development. Our results suggest that, during the development of Lymnaea, the progressive changes in the pattern of dye spread correspond with the progressive restrictions of the developmental fates of individual cells or groups of cells. We conclude that changes in the pattern of cell communication and in the appearance of communication compartments are not exclusive features of regulative embryos.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Cell communication compartments in molluscan embryos.

Early embryos of Patella vulgata have been injected with Lucifer Yellow. No restriction of dye spread was found. We show that later in the development, the larval trochophore stage present evidence of compartments of cell communication. These dye compartments coincide with different presumptive regions.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1980

Intercellular communication patterns are involved in cell determination in early molluscan development.

The formation of specialized intercellular junctions, allowing the passage of low-molecular weight regulatory molecules, has been considered as a possible mechanism for regulating embryonic development. No direct evidence for this concept has been found in early development. In the mollusc Pattella vulgata it was demonstrated that cell positioning and specific cellular interactions are key factors in the control of early development. We have now investigated the pattern of intercellular communication during early development of this embryo by intracellular iontophoresis of the fluorescent dye Lucifer Yellow CH. We demonstrate that the formation of regional- and temporal-specific cell-to-cell coupling is correlated with the determination of the mesentoblast--the stem cell of the mesoderm--and the establishment of dorso-ventral polarity.

Animals↗
PubMed1977

Development of dorsoventral polarity and mesentoblast determination in Patella vulgata.

In Patella vulgata the 32-cell stage represents a pause in the mitotic activity prior to the differentiation of the mesentoblasts mother cell 3D. At the onset of this stage, the embryo is radially symmetrical. Nevertheless, the plane of bilateral symmetry is indicated as it passes through the macromeres forming the vegetal cross-furrow. From the early beginning of the 32-cell stage, all four macromeres introdude far into the interior and tough the centrally radiating cells of the first quartet of micromeres. The two cross-furrow forming macromeres (3B and 3D) intrude the farthest and come into contact with the greatest number of micromeres. Finally, the contacts are extended significantly and maintained with only one of these macromeres. From that moment, this cell can be called the macromere 3D and the dorsoventral axis is determined. The evolution of the internal cell contacts between the micromeres of the first quartet and the macromeres indicates an essential role of the former in the determination of one of the latter as the masentoblasts mother cell, and thus in the determination of dorsoventral polarity.

Animals↗