Bilaterally Asymmetric Helical Myofibrils in Ascidian Tadpole Larvae.

ABSTRACT: The locomotor system is highly bilateral at the macroscopic level. Homochirality of biological molecules is fully compatible with the bilateral body. However, whether and how single-handed cells contribute to the bilateral locomotor system is obscure. Here, exploiting the small number of cells in the swimming tadpole larva of the ascidian Ciona, we analyzed morphology of the tail at cellular and subcellular scales. Quantitative phase-contrast X-ray tomographic microscopy revealed a high-density midline structure ventral to the notochord in the tail. Muscle cell nuclei on each side of the notochord were roughly bilaterally aligned. However, fluorescence microscopy detected left-right asymmetry of myofibril inclination relative to the longitudinal axis of the tail. Zernike phase-contr

SUBMITTER: Matsuo K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8688927 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature