Nematocyst Development' 



David B. Slautterback 



Depai'tmcnt of Anafonuj, The University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. 



To a cytologist one of the most intriguing aspects of the nema- 

 tocyst is that it is a secretory product hke many another, but unhke 

 those commonly studied, it possesses a very high order of structural 

 detail. To my knowledge, there are few rivals in this respect, 

 among them being the protozoan trichocyst which serves to remind 

 us that the coelenterates are not the only group with such highly 

 organized secretory products. Though understanding it not at 

 all, we are accustomed to the extremely intricate structures which 

 cells, in an enviable demonstration of community effort, can con- 

 struct in the extracellular space, such as hair and teeth. Still more 

 commonplace, and seemingly more intelligible, are intracellular 

 deposits of crystalline material. It does not stretch our imagination 

 seriously to conceive of the mechanism which brings about this 

 level of organization, impressive though it may be; for we can 

 produce this same or similar structure in the laboratory without 

 the inter\ention of cells. But comprehension of the mechanisms 

 involved in the intracellular elaboration of such a highly organized 

 body as the nematocyst challenges the best of our imaginative ca- 

 pacities. Speaking for the cytologist, the rewards are well worth 

 whatever effort is required for we can reasonably anticipate even 

 more than elucidation of this one mechanism common to a single 

 group of animals. Certainly new and better understanding of the 

 organelles with which all cells must work will ensue. This after- 

 noon we will hear several approaches to the understanding of 

 nematocysts, their production, structure and functions. For my 

 part I shall make a rather free interpretation of my assigned 



^The work reported here was done during the tenure of U.S. Pul^lic Health Researcli 

 Grants RG5651 and RG6934. 



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