title: Effects of increasing ploidy on the lumbar lateral motor column and hindlimb of newly metamorphosed Xenopus laevis: a comparison of diploid and triploid siblings.
abstract: This study was undertaken to determine how increasing ploidy in Xenopus laevis affected the size of the lumbar lateral motor column (L-LMC) motoneuron population, the size of representative hindlimb muscles, and the relationship between these features in animals at the completion of metamorphosis. Triploids were produced by exposing fertilized diploid eggs to increased hydrostatic pressure. In the triploids, L-LMC motoneuron number was significantly reduced and motoneuron nuclear cross-sectional area was significantly increased. Both L-LMC length and the total L-LMC size (neuron number x mean nuclear size) were roughly equal in diploids and triploids. No ploidy-related differences in fiber number were observed in two representative thigh muscles. In diploid animals, motoneuron number is significantly correlated with both muscle fiber number and with body size. The latter two variables are also significantly correlated with one another, making it possible that a feature related to muscle fiber number or one related to body size or both are significant in determining motoneuron number. In triploid animals, motoneuron number was significantly correlated with body size but not with muscle fiber number. This suggests that the feature significant in determining motoneuron number may be one related to body size rather than to muscle fiber number. If a feature related to muscle fiber number were the primary determinant of motoneuron number, one would have expected in addition similar average changes in the two variables in comparing diploids and triploids. That this was not observed provides further reason to suspect muscle fiber numbers may not be a primary determinant of motoneuron number. In both diploids and triploids, total L-LMC size (a value combining neuron number and neuron size) was highly correlated with body size, but again, not with muscle fiber number. The average total L-LMC size and the average body size were equal in diploids and triploids while average motoneuron number was significantly different. What this suggests is that in discussing possible mechanisms to account for correspondences between central and peripheral sizes, the relevant variable for the former may be total L-LMC size rather than motoneuron number.
authors.affiliation: School of Life and Health Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark 19716.
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Sperry
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D006614:Hindlimb / Q000254:growth & development / Q000294:innervation*; D007814:Larva; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D024510:Muscle Development; D009132:Muscles / Q000294:innervation*; D011003:Ploidies; D014982:Xenopus laevis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development