The early development of the onychopod cladoceran Bythotrephes longimanus (Crustacea, Branchiopoda)

INTRODUCTION: Within arthropods, several crustacean groups are unique in their early development due to their stereotyped cell division patterns and cell lineages. However, it is still unclear whether these cell division patterns are homologous between the various crustacean groups and whether they could indicate the ground pattern of Tetraconata (Crustacea and Hexapoda). In this study we describe the early development of the raptorial water flea Bythotrephes longimanus as a representative of the Cladocera within branchiopods. RESULTS: In B. longimanus the early cell lineage and the cell division pattern are stereotyped up to the fifth cell division cycle. As a morphological marker a nurse cell remnant (ncr) identifies the cell lineage of the smallest and division delayed blastomere up to the 16-cell stage. This marker might be indicative of the germ line. By combining histology, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and 4D microscopy, we reconstruct the early cell lineage and cell division pattern and follow transient formations of cell morphological structures in their temporal and spatial behavior up to gastrulation. CONCLUSIONS: Correspondences to the early cleavage pattern of other Cladocera suggest that the described pattern can be assumed to be ancestral for either the entire Cladocera or for the majority of the Cladocera comprising Anomopoda, Ctenopoda and Onychopoda. The comparison to the cell division patterns of other crustacean groups such as Malacostraca, Ostracoda, and Copepoda reveals similarities that allow for a discussion of a common pattern for the crustacean groups and a ground pattern for the Tetraconata.