Cell lineage analysis of mirror-image morphs in Lymnaea stagnalis L.

• Grant number: 07/59097-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research
• Start date: April 01, 2008
• End date: May 31, 2008
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Embryology
• Principal Investigator: Toshie Kawano
• Grantee: Toshie Kawano
• Host Investigator: Takahiro Asami
• Host Institution: Instituto Butantan. Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Shinshu University, Japan

Abstract

Cell lineages of two morphs of Lymnaea stagnalis will be analyzed to test whether the reversal of left-right polarity by itself alters later morphogenesis. In Lymnaea stagnalis, the dextral morph is the wild type, and the sinistral morph is a genetic mutant. It has been observed that the mortality of sinistrals is higher than that of dextrals even though they share the same genomic background from the same parents. It indicates that sinistrals suffer anomalous development because of the polarity reversal but not of genetic differences. Sinistrai malformations are evident at the trochophore and veliger stages when observed by stereomicroscopy. The method of silver-nitrate staining will be used to follow the cell lineages. Our results will determine how the process of malformation starts at the early stages of development… (AU)