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Development of the supporting cells and structures derived from them in the inner ear of the grass frog, Rana temporaria (Amphibia, Anura)

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Summary

The inner ear of Rana t. temporaria comprises sensory structures with various special functions, i.e., the detection of spatial orientation (utricle, saccule, lagena), of rotation (ampullae), and of acoustic signals (amphibian and basilar papillae). In each of these structures, there is a sensory epithelium made up of hair (sensory) cells and supporting cells. As the supporting cells differentiate, they produce the organic matrix of the otoconia in the gravity-sensing organs, the ground substance of the cupulae in the ampullae, and the ground substance of the tectorial membranes in the auditory papillae. The supporting cells associated with these various derivative structures have correspondingly different cytoplasmic properties. The preotoconia are formed by extrusion; the otoconia develop from these filamentous precursors by growth and calcium deposition. The organic material that forms the cupulae and tectorial membranes is released from the supporting cells by exocytosis. The organization of this material into the ground substance is initiated mainly around the distal ends of the hair-cell kinocilia, eventually giving rise to the marked morphological differences that distinguish the cupulae from the tectorial membranes.

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Abbreviations

bb :

basal body

c :

cilia

ca :

crista ampullaris

ch :

chromosome

cu :

cupula

d :

dictyosome

hc :

hair cell

kc :

kinocilia

ld :

lipid droplet

m :

mitochondrion

ma :

main axis

mb :

multilamellated body

mc :

macula communis

mi :

mitosis

mv :

microvillus

n :

nucleus

on :

organic net

pa :

amphibian papilla

pb :

basilar papilla

pg :

pigment granule

po :

preotoconia

rer :

rough endoplasmic reticulum

s :

saccule

sc :

supporting cell

sci :

stereocilia

sd :

spot desmosome

t :

tegmentum

tf :

tonofilaments

tj :

tight junction

tm :

tectorial membrane

yp :

yolk platelet

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoologisches Institut der Universität Bonn, Poppelsdorfer Schloß, D-5300, Bonn 1, Federal Republic of Germany

    Iris Hertwig & Hans Schneider

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  1. Iris Hertwig
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  2. Hans Schneider
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Hertwig, I., Schneider, H. Development of the supporting cells and structures derived from them in the inner ear of the grass frog, Rana temporaria (Amphibia, Anura). Zoomorphology 106, 137–146 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00312202

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00312202

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