Gonadal Degeneration Is Mediated by Apoptotic Processes in the Semelparous Gray Side-Gilled Sea Slug < em > Pleurobranchaea maculata < /em >

Biol Bull. 2023 Jun;244(3):190-200. doi: 10.1086/727971. Epub 2023 Nov 9.ABSTRACTAbstractSpecies undergoing postreproductive death experience great changes in their reproductive organs, which are driven by numerous physiological processes. To assess whether apoptotic processes are involved in the dynamics of the reproductive organs of Pleurobranchaea maculata, the gonadal structure of this semelparous side-gilled sea slug was studied using light and scanning electron microscopy. Apoptotic cells at different gonadal developmental stages were detected by in situ TUNEL assay. Apoptosis was primarily focused on spermatogonia during gonadal cell proliferation, probably as a regulatory mechanism that maintains homeostasis in reproductive cells. Visible gonadal degeneration at the end of the reproductive period is accompanied by apoptosis of the basal lamina cells of the acini, suggesting that apoptotic processes are involved in the gonadal degeneration observed in P. maculata.PMID:38457678 | DOI:10.1086/727971

Source: The Biological Bulletin - March 8, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Verena B ökenhans Mar ía Florencia Abascal Sebasti án Giulianelli Andr és Averbuj Source Type: research