The nematode stoma: Homology of cell architecture with improved understanding by confocal microscopy of labeled cell boundaries.

Nematode stomas vary widely in the cuticular structures evolved for different feeding strategies, yet the arrangement of the epithelial cell classes that form these structures may be conserved. This article addresses several issues that have impeded the full acceptance of this hypothesis including controversies arising from the structure of the Caenorhabditis elegans stoma. We investigated fluorescent antibody labeling of cell boundaries in conjunction with confocal microscopy as an alternative to transmission electron microscopy (TEM), using MH27 to label apical junctions in C. elegans and two other species. Accurately spaced optical sections collected by the confocal microscope provide a three-dimensional array of pixels (voxels) that, using image-processing software, can be rotated and sectioned at accurately chosen thicknesses and locations. Ribbons of fluorescence clearly identify cell boundaries along the luminal cuticle in C. elegans and Zeldia punctata and less clearly in Bunonema sp. The patterns render cell classes and their relationships readily identifiable. In the C. elegans stoma they correct a misreading of serial TEMs that was not congruent with architecture in other nematodes-the row of marginal cells is now seen to be continuous as in other nematodes, rather than being interrupted by encircling pm1 cells. Also impeding understanding, the reference to certain cell classes as 'epithelial' and others as "muscle" in the C. elegans literature is at variance with muscle expression in most other taxa. For consistent comparison among species, we propose that these cell class descriptors based on function be replaced by topological terms. With these and other confusing concepts and terminology removed, the homology of the cellular architecture among taxa becomes obvious. We provide a corrected description of the cell architecture of the C. elegans stoma and examples of how it is modified in other taxa with different feeding strategies. J. Morphol. 277:1168-1186, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An integrated approach to fast and informative morphological vouchering of nematodes for applications in molecular barcoding.

Molecular surveys of meiofaunal diversity face some interesting methodological challenges when it comes to interstitial nematodes from soils and sediments. Morphology-based surveys are greatly limited in processing speed, while barcoding approaches for nematodes are hampered by difficulties of matching sequence data with traditional taxonomy. Intermediate technology is needed to bridge the gap between both approaches. An example of such technology is video capture and editing microscopy, which consists of the recording of taxonomically informative multifocal series of microscopy images as digital video clips. The integration of multifocal imaging with sequence analysis of the D2D3 region of large subunit (LSU) rDNA is illustrated here in the context of a combined morphological and barcode sequencing survey of marine nematodes from Baja California and California. The resulting video clips and sequence data are made available online in the database NemATOL (http://nematol.unh.edu/). Analyses of 37 barcoded nematodes suggest that these represent at least 32 species, none of which matches available D2D3 sequences in public databases. The recorded multifocal vouchers allowed us to identify most specimens to genus, and will be used to match specimens with subsequent species identifications and descriptions of preserved specimens. Like molecular barcodes, multifocal voucher archives are part of a wider effort at structuring and changing the process of biodiversity discovery. We argue that data-rich surveys and phylogenetic tools for analysis of barcode sequences are an essential component of the exploration of phyla with a high fraction of undiscovered species. Our methods are also directly applicable to other meiofauna such as for example gastrotrichs and tardigrades.