Abstract：
A need exists for additional methods to examine cnidaria at the cellular level to aid our understanding of health, anatomy, and physiology of this important group of organisms. This need is particularly acute given that disease is emerging as a major factor in declines of ecologically important functional groups such as corals. Here we describe a simple method to process cnidarian cells for microscopic examination using the model organism Exaiptasia. We show that this organism has at least 18 cell types or structures that can be readily distinguished based on defined morphological features. Some of these cells can be related back to anatomic features of the animal both at the light microscope and ultrastructural level. The cnidome of Exaiptasia may be more complex than what is currently understood. Moreover, cnidarian cells, including some types of cnidocytes, phagocytize cells other than endosymbionts. Finally, our findings shed light on morphologic complexity of cell-associated microbial aggregates and their intimate intracellular associations. The tools described here could be useful for other cnidaria.
摘要：
需要额外的方法来检查细胞水平的CNidaria，以帮助我们了解健康，解剖学,和这一重要生物群体的生理学。鉴于疾病正在成为生态上重要的功能群(如珊瑚)下降的主要因素,这种需求尤其迫切。在这里，我们描述了一种使用模型生物Exaiptasia处理用于显微镜检查的刺胞动物细胞的简单方法。我们表明，这种生物具有至少18种细胞类型或结构，可以根据定义的形态特征轻松区分。这些细胞中的一些可以在光学显微镜和超微结构水平上与动物的解剖特征有关。Exaiptasia的巢穴可能比目前所理解的更为复杂。此外，cnidarian细胞,包括一些类型的细胞,吞噬除了内共生体以外的细胞。最后,我们的研究结果揭示了细胞相关微生物聚集体的形态复杂性及其细胞内密切关联.此处描述的工具可能对其他cnidaria有用。
