. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Biology; Marine Biology. IN SPONGE 273 Most allogeneic combinations were incompatible, sug- gesting the existence of an extensive polymorphism of histocompatibility genes in natural populations. Vigorous cytotoxic reactions by archeocytes were observed in the contact region. The ecological significance of self and non- self recognition in these sponges is discussed. Materials and Methods All specimens of Leucandra uhratsho. a calcareous sponge with a leuconoid canal system, were collected from a raft at the Breeding Center of Aomori
. The Biological bulletin. Biology; Zoology; Biology; Marine Biology. IN SPONGE 273 Most allogeneic combinations were incompatible, sug- gesting the existence of an extensive polymorphism of histocompatibility genes in natural populations. Vigorous cytotoxic reactions by archeocytes were observed in the contact region. The ecological significance of self and non- self recognition in these sponges is discussed. Materials and Methods All specimens of Leucandra uhratsho. a calcareous sponge with a leuconoid canal system, were collected from a raft at the Breeding Center of Aomori Prefecture in northern Japan. They were abundant in scallop-breeding baskets that were hung a few meters below the water's surface. The size of the raft is about 15 X 20 m, so the maximum distance between any two specimens is about 20 m. The sponge was easily freed from the substratum because it is upright and has a stout body. Once collected, the sponges were put in water-tight containers, brought to the Asamushi Marine Biological Laboratory, and placed immediately in running seawater where they could be maintained for more than ten days. The largest specimen was about 8 cm in length; only those larger than 4 cm were used. Assessment of incompatibility Because parabiosis experiments were not feasible with this sponge, "the allogeneic combination test" was per- formed as an alternative method. Sponges that had been selected for the allogeneic combination assay, were cut into slices 2 to 3mm thick, and two sponge pieces derived from different individuals were bound together with a piece of cotton thread. The flatness of their opposed cut surfaces allowed the sponge pieces to be closely appressed, and caused the deeper sponge tissues to be in direct con- tact. To ensure reliability, the test was first performed with ten replicates of each sponge pair. Because all rep- licates of a pair showed similar allogeneic reactions, two replicates of each combination were usually
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Keywords: ., bookauthorlilliefrankrat, booksubjectbiology, booksubjectzoology
