Friday Cephalopod: Baby done growed up

Don't you just love those photo series of the young'uns at different ages?

Developmental staging of Octopus bimaculoides. a Whole egg photomicrograph illustrates the egg stalk and the animal pole (asterisk) where the embryonic body forms. Extent of epiboly in this stage (st) 8 embryo is marked with arrowheads. b End on view of a stage 8 embryo with the egg capsule and yolk removed. In dark field illumination, the organ primordia are visible as ectodermal and mesodermal thickenings. The mantle anlage (m) is central, the prospective mouth (mo) at the top of the panel is anterior, and the arm bud pairs (1–4) are arrayed peripherally. The folds of the collar (co) and the prospective funnel (fo, ff) fall at intermediate positions. c–f The growth of the organ systems by stage 10 is illustrated in end on (c), anterior (d), posterior (e) and left side (f) views. g–m The shape of the adult octopus emerges at middle (g–l) and late (m) embryonic stages. Illustrated are anterior (g and j), posterior (h and k) and left side (i and l) views of stage 13 (g–i) and stage 18 (j–l) embryos, and an anterior view of a stage 19 embryo (m). n and o Anterior views of O. bimaculoides (n) and its brain (o) at hatching (stage 20). A, anterior view; ey, eye; fun, funnel; gil, gill; L, lateral view; olf, olfactory organ; opt, optic lobe; P, posterior view; pf, funnel pouch; st, statocyst; supes, supraesophageal mass. Scale bars: 1mm (a), 500 μm (b–o) Developmental staging of Octopus bimaculoides. a Whole egg photomicrograph illustrates the egg stalk and the animal pole (asterisk) where the embryonic body forms. Extent of epiboly in this stage (st) 8 embryo is marked with arrowheads. b End on view of a stage 8 embryo with the egg capsule and yolk removed. In dark field illumination, the organ primordia are visible as ectodermal and mesodermal thickenings. The mantle anlage (m) is central, the prospective mouth (mo) at the top of the panel is anterior, and the arm bud pairs (1–4) are arrayed peripherally. The folds of the collar (co) and the prospective funnel (fo, ff) fall at intermediate positions. c–f The growth of the organ systems by stage 10 is illustrated in end on (c), anterior (d), posterior (e) and left side (f) views. g–m The shape of the adult octopus emerges at middle (g–l) and late (m) embryonic stages. Illustrated are anterior (g and j), posterior (h and k) and left side (i and l) views of stage 13 (g–i) and stage 18 (j–l) embryos, and an anterior view of a stage 19 embryo (m). n and o Anterior views of O. bimaculoides (n) and its brain (o) at hatching (stage 20). A, anterior view; ey, eye; fun, funnel; gil, gill; L, lateral view; olf, olfactory organ; opt, optic lobe; P, posterior view; pf, funnel pouch; st, statocyst; supes, supraesophageal mass. Scale bars: 1mm (a), 500 μm (b–o)

Shigeno et al. Zoological Letters (2015) 1:26

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a, Schematic of Octopus bimaculoides anatomy, highlighting the tissues sampled for transcriptome analysis: viscera (heart, kidney and hepatopancreas), yellow; gonads (ova or testes), peach; retina, orange; optic lobe (OL), maroon; supraesophageal brain (Supra), bright pink; subesophageal brain (…

Thanks for continuing to support the claims of all serious scientists by not responding to my comment. At the same time, other intelligent people realize you are refuting the claims of all teleophobes.

You have linked to an example used to support my detailed explanation of how atoms are linked to ecosystems in all living genera. As you must know, nutrient-dependent RNA-mediated amino acid substitutions and chromosomal rearrangements are the key to biodiversity.

Thanks for helping to move science forward after decades of your displayed ignorance.

By James V. Kohl (not verified) on 13 Jan 2016 #permalink

Re: Improving gut bacteria. http://mbio.asm.org/content/5/5/e01377-14.abstract

Excerpt:: "In most cases, it is unclear whether these changes were beneficial themselves or, alternatively, hitchhiked to fixation with other beneficial mutations. In any case, many genome rearrangements accumulated over decades of evolution, providing these populations with genetic plasticity reminiscent of that observed in some pathogenic bacteria."

In case you haven't realized it yet, they are still trying to link mutations to evolution. But now that takes three mutations for the nutrient-dependent pheromone-controlled stability of organized genomes to arise in the context of the chromosomal rearrangements.

By James V. Kohl (not verified) on 15 Jan 2016 #permalink

Cool-looking stuff. I know your specialty is embryology, and I'd be interested in perhaps seeing a comparison of cephalopod and vertebrate embryonic development in a future post.