Date of Award:

5-1977

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Biology

Committee Chair(s)

Nabil N. Youssef

Committee

Nabil N. Youssef

Committee

Raymond T. Sanders

Committee

Hugh P. Stanley

Abstract

The post-embryonic development of the compound eye of the worker honey bee was investigated with the light and electron microscopes. The cells of the optic primordium were reorganized into preommatidial cell clusters during the late third and early fourth larval instars. Each cluster contained nine prospective retinula cells, the ninth was centrally located and shorter than the other eight; four prospective cone cells; and an undetennined number of prospective pigment cells.

Rhabdomere development began in the eight peripherally located retinula cells just prior to pupation. Following pupation, each ommatidium elongated. During ommatidial elongation, the short ninth retinula cell moved from its central location to a peripheral location within the ommatidium and also developed a rhabdomere. The shape of each prospective crystalline cone also changed from teardrop-shaped to spherical to the typical cone shape of the adult during differentiation.

The involvement of junctional specializations of membranes and of microtubules in the processes of differentiation, including elongation, cellular migration, and cellular organization, have been raised. Also, the role of multivesicular bodies in the process of lens formation has been discussed.

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21878605a2136616c04d86d80486a0c1

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