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Fig. 5 | BMC Evolutionary Biology

Fig. 5

From: Do novel genes drive morphological novelty? An investigation of the nematosomes in the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis

Fig. 5

Ciliary structures on the surface of a nematosome. a Double labeling of F-actin (phalloidin; red) and acetylated-tubulin (green) indicates the presence of dense actin-rich apical cones (black arrowhead) and two types of cilia: type I, short (white arrowhead) and type II, long (white arrow). b Cilium length differs significantly between type I and type II cilia (ANOVA, p < < 0.001). c Numerous ciliary cones of different morphologies (arrows) are visible among the abundant microvilli covering the surface of a nematosome. d Type I ciliary cones (white arrows in A) are wide, assembled from multiple layers of stereocilia (white arrow), and surround a short central kinocilium (K; *indicates the distal tip of the cilium). e Type II ciliary cones are narrow and are composed of a single layer of stereocilia (black arrow) that surround a long kinocilium. f A thin section reveals the relationship of the ciliary cones and their underlying cell types. Higher magnification (inset) shows a type I ciliary cone (white arrow) at the apex of a cnidocyte (Cn) and a type II ciliary cone (black arrow) at the apex of a cell type with sub-apical vesicles of various size and electron density immediately adjacent to the cnidocyte. All scale bars represent 10 μm unless otherwise specified

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