Functional Morphology of Reproduction in Mollusca

我对软体动物繁殖的研究，结合了连续的超薄切片和透射电子显微镜(TEM)，揭示了细胞事件的新细节，例如发生在受精或细胞分泌物质期间的事件。此外，激光共聚焦光学显微镜与荧光抗体结合使用，能够以无与伦比的清晰度检查细胞中的微观事件，无论是活的还是死亡的。 我的实验室最近的研究揭示了关于动物细胞如何从其表面分泌物质的新信息。在大多数蜗牛中，雌性蜗牛接收的废精子被交配法囊消化。在斑腿类中，这个器官通过一个不寻常的大顶分泌分泌过程来分泌消化酶。大约十年前，这种机制首次在人类男性的前列腺和附睾处被观察到，在那里它与精子的长寿和卵子结合特性有关。我还对微顶分泌物感兴趣，我们已经发现它是造成石鳖蛋壳形成的原因。这种在某些情况下完全通过内膜系统的分泌方法鲜为人知，我们在软体动物中发现了这种方法。我们计划首次对顶分泌分泌进行3D重建，使用计算机叠加在此过程中拍摄的连续超薄切片的数字图像。 有些蜗牛在动物中是不寻常的，因为它们既能产生可育的胚乳，也能产生不育的寄生虫。寄生虫不是“错误”，而是在某些物种中占射精的50%。寄生虫通过程序性的核死亡来消灭细胞核，但细胞继续存活，并利用细胞质中储存的分子产生复杂的分泌物。通过这样失去细胞核，人眼的晶状体细胞变得更加透明，红细胞提高了携氧能力。但蜗牛寄生虫有什么作用呢？我们计划通过电泳法分离独特的蛋白质来研究这一点，然后部署定制的抗体来追踪它们在雌性体内的命运，并开始了解它们的目的。

My research on molluscan reproduction, which combines serial ultrathin sectioning with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), is revealing new details of cellular events, such as those occuring at fertilization or during the secretion of substances from cells. Furthermore, Laser Confocal light microscopes, used in conjunction with fluorescent antibodies, are enabling examination of microscopic events in cells, living or dead, with unparalleled clarity. Recent studies in my lab have revealed new information about how animal cells secrete substances from their surfaces. In most snails, waste sperm received by the female are digested by the bursa copulatrix. In littorinids this organ secretes digestive enzymes by an unusual process of macroapocrine secretion. This mechanism was observed for the first time in human males about a decade ago, in the prostate gland and epididymis, where it has been linked to the longevity and egg-binding properties of sperm. I am also interested in microapocrine secretion, which we have found to be responsible for egg hull formation in chitons. This method of secretion, which bi-passes the endomembrane system completely in some cases, is little known and was discovered by us in molluscs. We plan to do 3D reconstruction of apocrine secretion in action for the first time, by using computers to superimpose digital images of serial ultrathin sections taken during this process. Some snails are unusual among animals in that they produce both fertile eusperm and sterile parasperm. The parasperm are not 'mistakes' but rather make up 50% of the ejaculate in some species. Parasperm eliminate the nucleus by programmed nuclear death and yet the cells continue to live and produce complex secretions using stored molecules in the cytoplasm. By losing their nuclei like this, lens cells of the human eye become more transparent and red blood cells improve their oxygen carrying capacity. But what is the function of snail parasperm? We plan to investigate this by isolating unique proteins with electrophoresis, followed by deployment of custom-made antibodies to track their fate in the female and begin to understand their purpose.