Ultrastructure of the anterior sense organs of adult Gastromermis Boophthorae (Nematoda: Mermithidae).
The amphids of adult Gastromermis boophthorae exhibit an organization unlike any previously reported. Each amphid consists of a distal cuticular channel which opens to the exterior, and a proximal amphidial gland. The cuticular channel is double and 15-18 cilia are held in a tight bundle by the inner channel. The amphidial gland contains an extensive reticulum, and the nerve axons which give rise to the amphidial cilia are arranged around the outside of the gland; anteriorly these axons are characteristically flattened. A granular secretion is produced by the amphidial gland and passes via the reticulum to the double cuticular channel, thus bathing the ciliary bundle. The ultrastructure of the amphids is discussed in relation to functional considerations.
D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002923:Cilia / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D008632:Mermithoidea / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D012679:Sense Organs / Q000648:ultrastructure