Sequentially bidirectional gastrovascular flows in intricately branched digestive tract of planocerid flatworms.
Polyclad flatworms possess an intricately branched digestive system combining features of a gastrovascular cavity as well as a gastrointestinal tract. Nonetheless, the functions of this system remain unconfirmed, due to a lack of effective observation methods. This paper presents a novel staining me...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2024-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315838 |
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| author | Po-Chun Hsu Yu-Hsun Chang Yu-Ning Chiu Wei-Ban Jie |
| author_facet | Po-Chun Hsu Yu-Hsun Chang Yu-Ning Chiu Wei-Ban Jie |
| author_sort | Po-Chun Hsu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Polyclad flatworms possess an intricately branched digestive system combining features of a gastrovascular cavity as well as a gastrointestinal tract. Nonetheless, the functions of this system remain unconfirmed, due to a lack of effective observation methods. This paper presents a novel staining method to facilitate the analysis of this highly branched digestive system. Video recordings obtained during ingestion revealed sequentially bidirectional gastrovascular flows and a corresponding occurrence of regular contractions. Tissue sections revealed that the contractions can be attributed to a radial arrangement of muscles around the gastrointestinal tract. The highly branched digestive system of the flatworm revealed evidence of bidirectional flow and sequential peristalsis, which may allow for a diet of greater diversity than is possible in animals with only a gastrovascular cavity. The proposed staining technique opens up new avenues for research on the digestive behavior of lower organisms. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-8b33c2d1ea1a40e08a9ce10c7fa83f7f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj-art-8b33c2d1ea1a40e08a9ce10c7fa83f7f2025-01-08T05:32:54ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032024-01-011912e031583810.1371/journal.pone.0315838Sequentially bidirectional gastrovascular flows in intricately branched digestive tract of planocerid flatworms.Po-Chun HsuYu-Hsun ChangYu-Ning ChiuWei-Ban JiePolyclad flatworms possess an intricately branched digestive system combining features of a gastrovascular cavity as well as a gastrointestinal tract. Nonetheless, the functions of this system remain unconfirmed, due to a lack of effective observation methods. This paper presents a novel staining method to facilitate the analysis of this highly branched digestive system. Video recordings obtained during ingestion revealed sequentially bidirectional gastrovascular flows and a corresponding occurrence of regular contractions. Tissue sections revealed that the contractions can be attributed to a radial arrangement of muscles around the gastrointestinal tract. The highly branched digestive system of the flatworm revealed evidence of bidirectional flow and sequential peristalsis, which may allow for a diet of greater diversity than is possible in animals with only a gastrovascular cavity. The proposed staining technique opens up new avenues for research on the digestive behavior of lower organisms.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315838 |
| spellingShingle | Po-Chun Hsu Yu-Hsun Chang Yu-Ning Chiu Wei-Ban Jie Sequentially bidirectional gastrovascular flows in intricately branched digestive tract of planocerid flatworms. PLoS ONE |
| title | Sequentially bidirectional gastrovascular flows in intricately branched digestive tract of planocerid flatworms. |
| title_full | Sequentially bidirectional gastrovascular flows in intricately branched digestive tract of planocerid flatworms. |
| title_fullStr | Sequentially bidirectional gastrovascular flows in intricately branched digestive tract of planocerid flatworms. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sequentially bidirectional gastrovascular flows in intricately branched digestive tract of planocerid flatworms. |
| title_short | Sequentially bidirectional gastrovascular flows in intricately branched digestive tract of planocerid flatworms. |
| title_sort | sequentially bidirectional gastrovascular flows in intricately branched digestive tract of planocerid flatworms |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0315838 |
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