title: The fine structure of coelomocytes in the sipunculid Phascolosoma esculenta.
abstract: Ultrastructural characteristics of coelomocytes of the sipunculid Phascolosoma esculenta were studied by transmission electron microscopy. There are several cell types in the coelomic fluid, including three kinds of granulocytes, vesicular cells, germ cells, amoebocytes, phagocytes, and erythrocytes; there are also a new cell complex which is composed of podocytes and granular cells. And several other cell types (erythrocyte and different kinds of granulocytes) gathering together was discovered in the coelomic fluid of P. esculenta. Functional interpretations were provided for these cells using morphological evidence. The coelomocytes from different sipunculid genera and Annelida were compared. The structural diversity of coelomocytes provides both taxonomic characteristics for discriminative identification and phylogenetic markers in Phascolosoma and other sipunculid taxa.
authors.affiliation: School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Wenzhou University, Wenzhou, China. xpying@spermlab.org
authors.forename: Xue-Ping
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Hong-Xi
authors.initials: HX
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hans-Uwe
authors.initials: HU
authors.lastname: Dahms
authors.forename: Supawadee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chullasorn
authors.forename: Yong-Pu
authors.initials: YP
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yi-Jun
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Wan-Xi
authors.initials: WX
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000845:Annelida / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology; D002477:Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission