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Larval convergence in a colonial tunicate: the organization of the sarcotubular complex in Ecteinascidia turbinata (Perophoridae, Phlebobranchiata, Tunicata, Chordata)

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An Erratum to this article was published on 09 January 2009

Abstract

Ecteinascidia turbinata is a colonial ascidian that as an adult shares characters with phlebobranch ascidians, whereas the larvae are similar to aplousobranch ascidian larvae. The sarcotubular complex consists of invaginations of the sarcolemma that contact the sarcoplasmatic reticulum via dyads or triads. If present, the invaginations of the sarcolemma in tunicates have been characterized as laminar or tubular. We comparatively investigated the sarcotubular complex of E. turbinata and seven other tunicate species using 3D-reconstruction techniques based on electron micrographs of serial sections. The mononucleate muscle cells in E. turbinata possess intermediate and close junctions and contain several layers of peripheral myofibrillae. The myofibrillae are surrounded by continuous cisternae of the sarcoplasmic reticulum that forms interconnected rings around the z-bands. The invaginations of the sarcolemma are laminar, contacting the sarcoplasamatic reticulum at the height of the z-bands via dyads and triads. We present a clear definition of character states encountered in Tunicata: laminar invaginations are characterized by a width to length ratio of smaller than 1:20, tubular invagination by a width to length ratio of larger than 1:10. Laminar invaginations are found in stolidobranch ascidians and E. turbinata. Tubular invaginations are present in aplousobranch ascidians and appendicularians. This character state distribution across taxa supports the hypothesis that E. turbinata should be included in Phlebobranchiata as suggested by adult characters and that the larval similarities with Aplousobranchiata arose by convergent evolution.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Peter Adam for skillfully drawing Fig. 7. Financial support for this study through grant Sta 655/1-1&2 of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Institut für Biologie, Chemie, Pharmazie, Zoologie, Evolution und Systematik der Tiere, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Straße 1-3, 14195, Berlin, Germany

    Thomas Stach & Andreas Kirbach

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  1. Thomas Stach
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  2. Andreas Kirbach
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Correspondence to Thomas Stach.

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An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00435-008-0083-3

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Stach, T., Kirbach, A. Larval convergence in a colonial tunicate: the organization of the sarcotubular complex in Ecteinascidia turbinata (Perophoridae, Phlebobranchiata, Tunicata, Chordata). Zoomorphology 128, 1–11 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-008-0069-1

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