Foregut Development and Metamorphosis in a Pyramidellid Gastropod: Modularity and Constraint within a Complex Life Cycle

Pyramidellids are tiny ectoparasitic gastropods with highly derived feeding structures for piercing and sucking. We attempted to resolve homology controversies about unique pyramidellid feeding structures by examining foregut development through larval and metamorphic stages, using sections for light and electron microscopy. We anticipated that, like many marine invertebrate larvae, post-metamorphic structures would differentiate extensively in late larvae to speed metamorphic transition. Previous studies of gastropods suggested that development of juvenile feeding structures in larvae was facilitated by foregut subdivision into dorsal and ventral developmental modules, and spatial uncoupling of these modules may have facilitated adaptive radiation in neogastropods. Observations of Odostomia tenuisculpta suggested that the stylet may be derived from cuticle-secreting buccal epithelium surrounding the proximal end of the salivary duct, whereas the stylet sheath could be either a derived jaw or a radular tooth. The anterior half of the remarkable buccal pump of these euthyneuran gastropods develops from the larval esophagus, which is unorthodox compared to caenogastropods, where extensive post-metamorphic specialization of a dorsal module component has not been previously described. The introvert tube develops from pouches of the distal larval esophagus and may actually be an eversible oral tube rather than an acrembolic proboscis. Minimal differentiation of presumptive juvenile foregut structures occurred during the larval stage of O. tenuisculpta, when compared to other gastropods. The stylet, stylet sheath, and buccal pump may be incompatible with functioning of the larval esophagus; thus, an explosive period of morphogenesis is necessary at metamorphosis. Although dorsal and ventral modules were recognizable during the development of O. tenuisculpta, we failed to find evidence that this modularity facilitated the extreme evolutionary remodeling of post-metamorphic feeding structures.

The gastropod foregut — evolution viewed through a developmental lens

Comparative data on the developing gastropod foregut suggest that this multicomponent feeding complex consists of two developmental modules. Modularity is revealed by delayed development of the buccal cavity and radular sac (“ventral module”) relative to the dorsal food channel (“dorsal module”) in gastropods with feeding larvae compared with those that may have never had a feeding larval stage. If nonfeeding larvae like those of extant patellogastropods and vetigastropods are ancestral for gastropods, then the uncoupling and heterochronic offset of dorsal and ventral foregut modules allowed the post-metamorphic dorsal food channel to be co-opted as a simple but functional esophagus for feeding larvae. Furthermore, by reducing energy cost per ovum, the heterochronic offset may have given mothers the evolutionary option of increasing fecundity or investing in protective egg encapsulation material. A second developmental innovation was spatial separation of the dorsal and ventral foregut modules, as illustrated by distal foregut development in buccinid neogastropods and venom gland development in cone snails. Spatial uncoupling may have enhanced the evolvability of gastropod foreguts by allowing phenotypic variants of ventral module components to be selected within post-metamorphic ecological settings, without needing to be first tested for compatibility with larval feeding. Finally, we describe a case in which foregut modularity has helped facilitate a highly derived life history in which encapsulated embryos ingest nurse eggs.

The other gastropod larvae: larval morphogenesis in a marine neritimorph

Two of the three major gastropod clades with feeding larvae are sister groups and larval morphogenesis for members of these clades, the Caenogastropoda and Heterobranchia, has been well studied. The third clade, the Neritimorpha, has an unstable phylogenetic position and little is known about development of their planktotrophic larvae. Information about larval morphology of neritimorphs and resolution of their controversial phylogenetic placement is critically important for understanding evolution of larval feeding within the Gastropoda. We describe larval morphogenesis to metamorphic competence for laboratory-reared larvae of Nerita melanotragus (Smith, 1884) (Neritimorpha: Neritidae). Preliminary observations suggest that prehatch larvae are capable of delayed hatching, possibly by entering a diapause state. Our description of larval morphogenesis, as based on tissue sections for light and transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, three-dimensional-reconstructions of sectioned tissue, and labeling of muscles with fluorphore-tagged phalloidin, revealed four features that are unprecedented among both feeding and nonfeeding gastropod larvae. Larvae of N. melanotragus have muscles on the left and right side that both meet current criteria of a larval retractor muscle; shell-anchored muscles with oblique striations that project inside the visceral nerve loop to insert mainly on the velar lobes. They also have left and right digestive glands of similar size and a left and right hypobranchial gland. A larval "heart" is absent, but water circulation through the mantle cavity may be facilitated by large circular orifices, lined by patches of motile cilia, leading in and out of the mantle cavity. Comparison of larval traits among all three groups of gastropods with feeding larvae indicates that larvae of N. melanotragus have many unique characteristics, but they show more similarities to caenogastropod than to heterobranch larvae. These results are a significant step toward the goal of identifying primitive versus derived larval traits among feeding gastropod larvae.

Major muscle systems in the larval caenogastropod, Ilyanassa obsoleta, display different patterns of development

This study describes the anatomical and developmental aspects of muscular development from the early embryo to competent larval stage in the gastropod Ilyanassa obsoleta. Staining of F-actin revealed differential spatial and temporal patterns of several muscles. In particular, two major muscles, the larval retractor and pedal retractor muscles originate independently and display distinct developmental patterns similar to observations in other gastropod species. Additionally, together with the larval retractor muscle, the accessory larval muscle developed in the embryo at the trochophore stage. Therefore, both these muscles develop prior to ontogenetic torsion. The pedal retractor muscle marked the most abundant growth in the mid veliger stage. Also during the middle stage, the metapodial retractor muscle and opercular retractor muscle grew concurrently with development of the foot. We show evidence that juvenile muscles, such as the buccal mass muscle and siphon muscle develop initially during the late veliger stage. Collectively, these findings substantiate that larval myogenesis involves a complex sequence of events that appear evolutionary conserved within the gastropods, and set the stage for future studies using this model species to address issues concerning the evolution and eventual fates of larval musculature in molluscs.

Seasonal feeding-mode changes in the marine facultative kleptoparasite Trichotropis cancellata (Gastropoda, Capulidae): trade-offs between trophic strategy and reproduction

I report the first field study of seasonal patterns of host use by a marine kleptoparasite. Trichotropis cancellata Hinds, 1843, a marine snail, is a facultative kleptoparasite, able to suspension-feed and steal food from hosts. I investigated the incidence of kleptoparasitism and suspension feeding in T. cancellata populations at six sites around the San Juan Islands, Washington State, USA, through field surveys spanning 2 years. Facultative kleptoparasitism was the dominant feeding mode in the summer (>65% of the population) for T. cancellata of all sizes at all sites, with the highest frequency of parasitism in the summer and the lowest in the winter (the snail mating season). Sexually immature snails (smaller than 5 mm) formed the only group that predominantly did not leave hosts in the winter. Females returned to hosts after their egg masses hatched (late March to early April), while males returned earlier. Tube-dwelling worms from three families are the usual hosts of T. cancellata. Snail and worm host densities were correlated. Surprisingly, host size was not a primary trait determining host use. Prevalence of infection was less than 40%, suggesting that hosts are not in limited supply. Single-snail infections were the most common, although multiple-snail infections occurred. Parasite load was not randomly distributed; an excess of infections with three or more parasites suggests that snails nonrandomly cluster on hosts. Understanding the population dynamics of this facultative kleptoparasite may shed light on the selection pressures driving the evolution of kleptoparasitism and suspension feeding and of snail adaptations to exploit their most common hosts.