Three‐dimensional reconstruction of the pharyngeal gland cells in the predatory nematode Pristionchus pacificus

摘要: Pristionchus pacificus is a model system in evolutionary biology and for comparison to Caenorhabditis elegans. As necromenic nematode often found association with scarab beetles, P. exhibits omnivorous feeding that characterized by mouth-form dimorphism, an example of phenotypic plasticity. Eurystomatous animals have dorsal sub-ventral tooth enabling predatory on other nematodes whereas stenostomatous only are microbivorous. Both mouth forms pacificus, like all members the Diplogastridae family, lack grinder terminal bulb pharynx resulting fundamentally different organization several pharynx-associated structures. Here, we describe three-dimensional reconstruction pharyngeal gland cells based serial transmission electron microscopical analysis 2527 sections 50 nm thickness. In C. elegans, lacks two (g2) usually associated function, three g1 (g1D, g1VL, g1VR) very prominent. The largest expansion seen g1D, which has anterior process opens into buccal cavity through canal tooth. We provide morphological description fine structural cells, behavior preliminary insight exocytosis cell vesicles pacificus.