Dataset Information

Seasonal alternation of the ontogenetic development of the moon jellyfish Aurelia coerulea in Maizuru Bay, Japan.

ABSTRACT: Outbreaks of moon jellyfish Aurelia spp. are frequently reported from many parts of the world's coastal areas. Aurelia spp. canonically show a metagenetic life cycle in which planulae transform into sessile polyps, which can drastically increase in number through asexual reproduction. Therefore, their asexual reproduction has been recognized as one of the major causes of the outbreaks. Aurelia spp. also show direct development that lacks asexual reproduction during the polyp stage, which prevents us from understanding the mechanisms of its outbreaks. To clarify the seasonality of the metagenetic and direct-development life cycles of Aurelia sp. in Maizuru Bay, Japan, we conducted field observations and laboratory experiments throughout the year. Additionally, the two life cycle types were genetically analyzed to confirm that they belong to the single species Aurelia coerulea, which dominates in coastal waters in Japan. From July until October, Aurelia coerulea produced smaller eggs and planulae all of which developed into polyps. However, from December until May, larger eggs and planulae were produced and 90% of the planulae developed into planktonic ephyrae bypassing the sessile polyp stage. Our results demonstrated that a single species, A. coerulea, seasonally shifts between their two life cycle types at a water temperature threshold of 20°C in Maizuru Bay. The higher energy storage of larger planulae was suggested to enable the planulae to develop into ephyrae without external energy input through feeding during the polyp stage. The adaptive significances of the two life cycle types were also discussed.

SUBMITTER: Suzuki KS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6872181 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Seasonal alternation of the ontogenetic development of the moon jellyfish Aurelia coerulea in Maizuru Bay, Japan.

Suzuki Kentaro S KS Suzuki Keita W KW Kumakura Emi E Sato Kana K Oe Yutaro Y Sato Tasuku T Sawada Hideki H Masuda Reiji R Nogata Yasuyuki Y

PloS one 20191121 11

Outbreaks of moon jellyfish Aurelia spp. are frequently reported from many parts of the world's coastal areas. Aurelia spp. canonically show a metagenetic life cycle in which planulae transform into sessile polyps, which can drastically increase in number through asexual reproduction. Therefore, their asexual reproduction has been recognized as one of the major causes of the outbreaks. Aurelia spp. also show direct development that lacks asexual reproduction during the polyp stage, which prevent ...[more]

PMID: 31751435

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Project description:BackgroundAurelia aurita (Scyphozoa, Cnidaria) is an emblematic species of the jellyfish. Currently, it is an emerging model of Evo-Devo for studying evolution and molecular regulation of metazoans' complex life cycle, early development, and cell differentiation. For Aurelia, the genome was sequenced, the molecular cascades involved in the life cycle transitions were characterized, and embryogenesis was studied on the level of gross morphology. As a reliable representative of the class Scyphozoa, Aurelia can be used for comparative analysis of embryonic development within Cnidaria and between Cnidaria and Bilateria. One of the intriguing questions that can be posed is whether the invagination occurring during gastrulation of different cnidarians relies on the same cellular mechanisms. To answer this question, a detailed study of the cellular mechanisms underlying the early development of Aurelia is required.MethodsWe studied the embryogenesis of A. aurita using the modern methods of light microscopy, immunocytochemistry, confocal laser microscopy, scanning and transmission electron microscopy.ResultsIn this article, we report a comprehensive study of the early development of A. aurita from the White Sea population. We described in detail the embryonic development of A. aurita from early cleavage up to the planula larva. We focused mainly on the cell morphogenetic movements underlying gastrulation. The dynamics of cell shape changes and cell behavior during invagination of the archenteron (future endoderm) were characterized. That allowed comparing the gastrulation by invagination in two cnidarian species-scyphozoan A. aurita and anthozoan Nematostella vectensis. We described the successive stages of blastopore closure and found that segregation of the germ layers in A. aurita is linked to the 'healing' of the blastopore lip. We followed the developmental origin of the planula body parts and characterized the planula cells' ultrastructure. We also found that the planula endoderm consists of three morphologically distinct compartments along the oral-aboral axis.ConclusionsEpithelial invagination is a fundamental morphogenetic movement that is believed as highly conserved across metazoans. Our data on the cell shaping and behaviours driving invagination in A. aurita contribute to understanding of morphologically similar morphogenesis in different animals. By comparative analysis, we clearly show that invagination may differ at the cellular level between cnidarian species belonging to different classes (Anthozoa and Scyphozoa). The number of cells involved in invagination, the dynamics of the shape of the archenteron cells, the stage of epithelial-mesenchymal transition that these cells can reach, and the fate of blastopore lip cells may vary greatly between species. These results help to gain insight into the evolution of morphogenesis within the Cnidaria and within Metazoa in general.

Dataset Information

Seasonal alternation of the ontogenetic development of the moon jellyfish Aurelia coerulea in Maizuru Bay, Japan.

Publications

Seasonal alternation of the ontogenetic development of the moon jellyfish Aurelia coerulea in Maizuru Bay, Japan.

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