Mesoglea

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Mesoglea refers to the extracellular matrix found in cnidarians like coral or jellyfish that functions as a hydrostatic skeleton. It is related to but distinct from mesohyl, which generally refers to extracellular material found in sponges.

Contents

Description

The mesoglea is mostly water. Other than water, the mesoglea is composed of several substances including fibrous proteins, like collagen and heparan sulphate proteoglycans. [1] The mesoglea is mostly acellular, [2] but in both cnidaria [3] and ctenophora [4] the mesoglea contains muscle bundles and nerve fibres. Other nerve and muscle cells lie just under the epithelial layers. [2] The mesoglea also contains wandering amoebocytes that play a role in phagocytosing debris and bacteria. These cells also fight infections by producing antibacterial chemicals. [5]

The mesoglea may be thinner than either of the cell layers [6] in smaller coelenterates like a hydra or may make up the bulk of the body in larger jellyfish. The mesoglea serves as an internal skeleton, supporting the body. Its elastic properties help restore the shape after it is deformed by the contraction of muscles. [7] However, without the buoyancy of water to support it, the mesoglea is not stiff enough to bear the weight of the body and coelenterates generally tend to flatten out, or even collapse when they are taken out of water.

The mesoglea is sandwiched between the epidermis and the gastrodermis. In some jellyfish the epidermis on the umbrella/bell surface seems to break off when the jellyfish grows so the mesoglea of older jellyfish is directly exposed to the water. [8]

The mesoglea itself consists of multiple layers that can be differentiated by their electron density. The most prominent of these are the basal lamina and the interstitial matrix.

Uses of the term

In order to differentiate the use of the word mesenchyme in vertebrate embryology (that is, undifferentiated tissue found in embryonic true [ento-]mesoderm from which are derived all connective tissues, blood vessels, blood cells, the lymphatic system, and the heart) and the use in invertebrate zoology (a more-or-less solid but loosely organized tissue consisting of a gel matrix [the mesoglea, in strict sense] with various cellular and fibrous inclusions, located between epidermis and gastrodermis), some authors prefer to use the term mesoglea (in wider sense) in lieu of mesenchyme when referring to the middle layers of sponges and diploblasts, reserving the term mesenchyme for the embryological sense. However, Brusca & Brusca (2003) discourage this usage, using mesoglea in its strict sense, and preferring to maintain both the embryological and zoological senses for the term mesenchyme. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cnidaria</span> Aquatic animal phylum having cnydocytes

Cnidaria is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic animals found both in freshwater and marine environments, including jellyfish, hydroids, sea anemone, corals and some of the smallest marine parasites. Their distinguishing features are a decentralized nervous system distributed throughout a gelatinous body and the presence of cnidocytes or cnidoblasts, specialized cells with ejectable flagella used mainly for envenomation and capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living jelly-like substance, sandwiched between two layers of epithelium that are mostly one cell thick.

<i>Hydra</i> (genus) Genus of cnidarians

Hydra is a genus of small freshwater hydrozoans of the phylum Cnidaria. They are native to the temperate and tropical regions. The genus was named by Linnaeus in 1758 after the Hydra, which was the many-headed beast of myth defeated by Heracles, as when the animal has a part severed, it will regenerate much like the mythical hydra’s heads. Biologists are especially interested in Hydra because of their regenerative ability; they do not appear to die of old age, or to age at all.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skeleton</span> Part of the body that forms the supporting structure

A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal frame to which the organs and soft tissues attach; and the hydroskeleton, a flexible internal structure supported by the hydrostatic pressure of body fluids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skin</span> Soft outer covering organ of vertebrates

Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jellyfish</span> Soft-bodied, aquatic invertebrates

Jellyfish, also known sea jellies, are the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scyphozoa</span> Class of marine cnidarians, true jellyfish

The Scyphozoa are an exclusively marine class of the phylum Cnidaria, referred to as the true jellyfish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ctenophora</span> Phylum of gelatinous marine animals

Ctenophora comprise a phylum of marine invertebrates, commonly known as comb jellies, that inhabit sea waters worldwide. They are notable for the groups of cilia they use for swimming, and they are the largest animals to swim with the help of cilia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coelom</span> The main body cavity in many animals

The coelom is the main body cavity in many animals and is positioned inside the body to surround and contain the digestive tract and other organs. In some animals, it is lined with mesothelium. In other animals, such as molluscs, it remains undifferentiated. In the past, and for practical purposes, coelom characteristics have been used to classify bilaterian animal phyla into informal groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthozoa</span> Class of cnidarians without a medusa stage

Anthozoa is a class of marine invertebrates which includes the sea anemones, stony corals and soft corals. Adult anthozoans are almost all attached to the seabed, while their larvae can disperse as part of the plankton. The basic unit of the adult is the polyp; this consists of a cylindrical column topped by a disc with a central mouth surrounded by tentacles. Sea anemones are mostly solitary, but the majority of corals are colonial, being formed by the budding of new polyps from an original, founding individual. Colonies are strengthened by calcium carbonate and other materials and take various massive, plate-like, bushy or leafy forms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gastrovascular cavity</span>

The gastrovascular cavity is the primary organ of digestion and circulation in two major animal phyla: the Coelenterates or cnidarians and Platyhelminthes (flatworms). The cavity may be extensively branched into a system of canals. In cnidarians, the gastrovascular system is also known as the coelenteron, and is commonly known as a "blind gut" or "blind sac", since food enters and waste exits through the same orifice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nerve net</span> Nervous systems lacking a brain

A nerve net consists of interconnected neurons lacking a brain or any form of cephalization. While organisms with bilateral body symmetry are normally associated with a condensation of neurons or, in more advanced forms, a central nervous system, organisms with radial symmetry are associated with nerve nets, and are found in members of the Ctenophora, Cnidaria, and Echinodermata phyla, all of which are found in marine environments. In the Xenacoelomorpha, a phylum of bilaterally symmetrical animals, members of the subphylum Xenoturbellida also possess a nerve net. Nerve nets can provide animals with the ability to sense objects through the use of the sensory neurons within the nerve net.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coelenterata</span> Term encompassing animal phyla Cnidaria and Ctenophora

Coelenterata is a term encompassing the animal phyla Cnidaria and Ctenophora. The name comes from Ancient Greek κοῖλος (koîlos) 'hollow', and ἔντερον (énteron) 'intestine', referring to the hollow body cavity common to these two phyla. They have very simple tissue organization, with only two layers of cells, and radial symmetry. Some examples are corals, which are typically colonial, and hydrae, jellyfish, and sea anemones, which are solitary. Coelenterata lack a specialized circulatory system relying instead on diffusion across the tissue layers.

<i>Phacellophora camtschatica</i> Species of jellyfish

Phacellophora camtschatica, commonly known as the fried egg jellyfish or egg-yolk jellyfish, is a very large jellyfish in the family Phacellophoridae. This species can be easily identified by the yellow coloration in the center of its body which closely resembles an egg yolk, hence how it got its common name. Some individuals can have a bell close to 60 cm (2 ft) in diameter, and most individuals have 16 clusters of up to a few dozen tentacles, each up to 6 m (20 ft) long. A smaller jellyfish, Cotylorhiza tuberculata, typically found in warmer water, particularly in the Mediterranean Sea, is also popularly called a fried egg jellyfish. Also, P. camtschatica is sometimes confused with the Lion's mane jellyfish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mesenchyme</span> Type of animal embryonic connective tissue

Mesenchyme is a type of loosely organized animal embryonic connective tissue of undifferentiated cells that give rise to most tissues, such as skin, blood or bone. The interactions between mesenchyme and epithelium help to form nearly every organ in the developing embryo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Octocorallia</span> Class of Anthozoa with 8-fold symmetry

Octocorallia is a class of Anthozoa comprising around 3,000 species of water-based organisms formed of colonial polyps with 8-fold symmetry. It includes the blue coral, soft corals, sea pens, and gorgonians within three orders: Alcyonacea, Helioporacea, and Pennatulacea. These organisms have an internal skeleton secreted by mesoglea and polyps with eight tentacles and eight mesentaries. As with all Cnidarians these organisms have a complex life cycle including a motile phase when they are considered plankton and later characteristic sessile phase.

The mesohyl, formerly known as mesenchyme or as mesoglea, is the gelatinous matrix within a sponge. It fills the space between the external pinacoderm and the internal choanoderm. The mesohyl resembles a type of connective tissue and contains several amoeboid cells such as amebocytes, as well as fibrils and skeletal elements. For a long time, it has been largely accepted that sponges lack true tissue, but it is currently debated as to whether mesohyl and pinacoderm layers are tissues.

<i>Turritopsis dohrnii</i> Species of small, biologically immortal jellyfish

Turritopsis dohrnii, also known as the immortal jellyfish, is a species of small, biologically immortal jellyfish found worldwide in temperate to tropic waters. It is one of the few known cases of animals capable of reverting completely to a sexually immature, colonial stage after having reached sexual maturity as a solitary individual. Others include the jellyfish Laodicea undulata and species of the genus Aurelia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea anemone</span> Marine animals of the order Actiniaria

Sea anemones are a group of predatory marine invertebrates constituting the order Actiniaria. Because of their colourful appearance, they are named after the Anemone, a terrestrial flowering plant. Sea anemones are classified in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, subclass Hexacorallia. As cnidarians, sea anemones are related to corals, jellyfish, tube-dwelling anemones, and Hydra. Unlike jellyfish, sea anemones do not have a medusa stage in their life cycle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enthemonae</span> Suborder of sea anemone

The Enthemonae is a suborder of sea anemones in the order Actiniaria. It comprises those sea anemones with typical arrangement of mesenteries for actiniarians.

<i>Polypodium hydriforme</i> Species of marine parasites

Polypodium is a genus of cnidarians that parasitizes in the eggs of sturgeon and similar fishes. It is one of the few metazoans (animals) that live inside the cells of other animals.

References

  1. ↑ Sarras, M. P.; Madden, M. E.; Zhang, X.; Gunwar, S.; Huff, J. K.; Hudson, B. G. (1991). "Extracellular matrix (mesoglea) of Hydra vulgaris". Developmental Biology. 148 (2): 481–494. doi:10.1016/0012-1606(91)90266-6. PMID   1743396.
  2. 1 2 Josephson, R. (2004). "The Neural Control of Behavior in Sea Anemones". Journal of Experimental Biology. 207 (14): 2371–2372. doi: 10.1242/jeb.01059 . PMID   15184508.
  3. ↑ Werner, B.; Chapman, D. M.; Cutress, C. E. (1976). "Muscular and nervous systems of the cubopolyp (Cnidaria)". Experientia. 32 (8): 1047–1049. doi:10.1007/BF01933964. S2CID   34578064.
  4. ↑ Hernandez-Nicaise, M. L. (1973). "The nervous system of ctenophores III. Ultrastructure of synapses". Journal of Neurocytology. 2 (3): 249–263. doi:10.1007/BF01104029. PMID   9224490. S2CID   38585544.
  5. ↑ Hutton, Danielle M. C.; Smith, Valerie J. (1996). "Antibacterial Properties of Isolated Amoebocytes from the Sea Anemone Actinia equina". Biological Bulletin. 191 (3): 441–451. doi:10.2307/1543017. JSTOR   1543017. PMID   29215925.
  6. ↑ Campbell, Richard D. (1976). "Elimination by Hydra interstitial and nerve cells by means of colchicine". Journal of Cell Science. 21 (1): 1–13. doi: 10.1242/jcs.21.1.1 . PMID   932105.
  7. ↑ Kier, W. M. (2012). "The diversity of hydrostatic skeletons". Journal of Experimental Biology. 215 (8): 1247–1257. doi: 10.1242/jeb.056549 . PMID   22442361.
  8. ↑ Hirose, Euichi; Sakai, Daisuke; Iida, Akane; Obayashi, Yumiko; Nishikawa, Jun (2021-01-06). "Exumbrellar Surface of Jellyfish: A Comparative Fine Structure Study with Remarks on Surface Reflectance". Zoological Science. 38 (2): 170–178. doi: 10.2108/zs200111 . ISSN   0289-0003. PMID   33812356. S2CID   232411684.
  9. ↑ Brusca & Brusca (2003), p. 220.


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