Transepithelial Cytophagy by Trichoplax adhaerens F. E. Schulze (Placozoa) Feeding on Yeast

Abstract

After accidental observations of unicellular algae trapped in the intermediate layer of Tricho-plax, dead yeast cells were offered systematically as a food. Some of them could be found several hours later engulfed by the big tetraploid fibre cells closely beneath the dorsal epithelium of the animal. This thin epithelial sheet not only allows the expulsion of accumulated waste substances by temporal separation of the cell connections but obviously gives also access to food particles collected previously on the dorsal surface by flagellar movements. Thus, the uppermost cell layer of Trichoplax permits the passage of corpuscles of limited size between its cells. © 1986, Verlag der Zeitschrift für Naturforschung