Mushroom mesenterial filaments and nematocysts

[Mr31415]

Inside of a mushroom polyp (and some other coral) a bunch of tiny, white spaghetti like strands called mesenterial filaments provide protection and a method of ingesting food for the polyp. Here is what I am referring to:

I took a sample of these filaments from another small mushroom polyp and put it under the microscope. Under a 4x objective (width of photo represents 5.5mm) this is how it looks like.

The dark dots are zooxanthellae (algae), the elliptical shapes with curled up strings inside are nematocysts.

A closer view with a 20x objective (width of photo represents about 1.1mm) under darkfield illumination results in this image.

The zooxanthellae are now shown in their natural brown colour. Large and small nematocysts are visible, some still embedded within the mesenterial filament.

Going closer still, this time with a 40x objective under DIC illumination (the width of the photo is approximately 0.54mm), the large elliptical nematocysts are still embedded in the mesenterial filament, with one about to burst out. The wound up filament inside is the threaded barb that will penetrate the target when ejected (these are not ejected).

This thread is surprisingly long. Here is a stacked image of a nematocyst that have been triggered. (The small nematocyst is still untriggered). A lone zooxanthellae cell is present just below the nematocyst.

The length of the triggered threads are partially shown here - they extend beyond the image boundaries.

More untriggered nematocysts.

 

[SushiGirl]

That's really cool!

 

[burnah]

very nice! thanks alot for those great pics. do you work at a lab or in research or is this just out of curiosity?

greetings

 

[smoq]

As usual, amazing images. I was debating to finally get a microscope and you probably helped me pull the plug. Can I ask you what do you think about this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QEFO1Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A35BV4NHHC5J5C

 

[firsttank]

Wow..awesome detail and explanation. Entertaining and Educating

 

[Reef Bass]

Very nice job going "uber macro"

Being a former biology / psychology major in college, I spent a lot of time peering down microscopes. I enjoy seeing the nematocysts curled up waiting for use, and the triggered ones too. Seeing the zooxanthellae should many people understand how integrated into the corals' tissue the algae are.

The firiing of the nematocysts is postulated as the fastest response by a biological mechanism in nature.

 

[JaYbIrD1969]

This is one of the coolest things Ive ever seen on RC!

I want MORE!!

 

[Mr31415]

very nice! thanks alot for those great pics. do you work at a lab or in research or is this just out of curiosity?

greetings

Thanks. No, I do not work at a lab. This is purely my passion for keeping reef aquariums crossed with my passion for photography.

 

[Mr31415]

As usual, amazing images. I was debating to finally get a microscope and you probably helped me pull the plug. Can I ask you what do you think about this one:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004QEFO1Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&smid=A35BV4NHHC5J5C

Thanks. Buying a microscope can be quite complicated. Important to understand is why you want to buy it? Do you want to take photos of largish, thick (possibly opaque) subjects? Then you are better off with a stereo microscope. If you want to photograph things like I have done here, then a biological compound microscope would do well. However, to see transparent subjects you might need other forms of illumination such as dark field, phase contrast or DIC. These can make a microscope much more expensive.

The one you linked to is a biological microscope that seems to have enough components that with the addition of a camera, you should be able to get photos. It has 4x, 10x 40x and 100x objectives. They are achromats, which are not bad, but they do not seem to be plan objectives meaning they are not corrected for flat field of view.

That brings me to the other part nobody really wants to hear. Unless you buy your microscope from one of the Big Four (Zeiss, Olympus, Nikon or Leica), it will most likely be of poor quality. The exception is Motic - a Chinese brand that has earned a reputation for being better than the rest of the non-Big Four brands. However, a Motic still is no match for a Big Four microscope. Naturally the price difference reflects this.

For $279 - assuming this is not a large investment for you - is so cheap that it both seems like a great deal and scares me a bit.

What I can tell you is that I owned the Nikon E200 biological microscope before my current microscope, and it produced superb images for its price class. Here (you might want to get a trinocular tube for the camera):

http://www.opticsplanet.com/nikon-e200-microscope-set-w-4x-10x-40x-120v-mca74202.html

It is obviously much more expensive but is a great entry level microscope. If this is too much have a peek at Motic's lineup. You might get something a bit cheaper. Or, you can take your chances at $279.

PS: For photography, having excellent optics and access to different illumination techniques is a very important requirement. More so the quality of the optics. A cheap microscope will get you images like this. Excellent optics become really expensive. A single, top quality 60x objective can easily cost $5000 or more if it is a plan apochromat. Here is another link comparing image quality from a cheap microscope versus a research grade microscope.

 

[smoq]

Thank you for your help. I totally understand your concerns and why you recommend a brand name microscope. I have several cameras and lenses from Nikon and I know optics aren't cheap and you usually get what you paid for. I just thought that maybe there are little inexpensive gems (like rokinon lenses in the world of photography) that produce good results. I am gonna rethink my purchase based on your recommendations. Do you know any other good trinocular microscope model from the big four I should look at? I would like to attach a dslr to it and practice taking photos. I checked for used Nikon E200 on Ebay but so far, no luck.

Thanks. Buying a microscope can be quite complicated. Important to understand is why you want to buy it? Do you want to take photos of largish, thick (possibly opaque) subjects? Then you are better off with a stereo microscope. If you want to photograph things like I have done here, then a biological compound microscope would do well. However, to see transparent subjects you might need other forms of illumination such as dark field, phase contrast or DIC. These can make a microscope much more expensive.

The one you linked to is a biological microscope that seems to have enough components that with the addition of a camera, you should be able to get photos. It has 4x, 10x 40x and 100x objectives. They are achromats, which are not bad, but they do not seem to be plan objectives meaning they are not corrected for flat field of view.

That brings me to the other part nobody really wants to hear. Unless you buy your microscope from one of the Big Four (Zeiss, Olympus, Nikon or Leica), it will most likely be of poor quality. The exception is Motic - a Chinese brand that has earned a reputation for being better than the rest of the non-Big Four brands. However, a Motic still is no match for a Big Four microscope. Naturally the price difference reflects this.

For $279 - assuming this is not a large investment for you - is so cheap that it both seems like a great deal and scares me a bit.

What I can tell you is that I owned the Nikon E200 biological microscope before my current microscope, and it produced superb images for its price class. Here (you might want to get a trinocular tube for the camera):

http://www.opticsplanet.com/nikon-e200-microscope-set-w-4x-10x-40x-120v-mca74202.html

It is obviously much more expensive but is a great entry level microscope. If this is too much have a peek at Motic's lineup. You might get something a bit cheaper. Or, you can take your chances at $279.

PS: For photography, having excellent optics and access to different illumination techniques is a very important requirement. More so the quality of the optics. A cheap microscope will get you images like this. Excellent optics become really expensive. A single, top quality 60x objective can easily cost $5000 or more if it is a plan apochromat. Here is another link comparing image quality from a cheap microscope versus a research grade microscope.

 

[Mr31415]

Do you know any other good trinocular microscope model from the big four I should look at? I would like to attach a dslr to it and practice taking photos. I checked for used Nikon E200 on Ebay but so far, no luck.

The Nikon E200 is an awesome little microscope and you can expand on it as you get more funds. You can buy the base microscope and then add phase contrast, polarisation, fluorescence etc as you go.

Except for the Nikon, I have not used any other brand name microscope. You can always look at the BA210.