Development of gravity-sensing organs in altered gravity conditions: opposite conclusions from an amphibian and a molluscan preparation
Wiederhold, M.L.; Pedrozo, H.A.; Harrison, J.L.; Hejl, R.; Gao, W.; Wiederhold, M.L.
Journal of Gravitational Physiology a Journal of the International Society for Gravitational Physiology 4(2): P51-P54
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 1077-9248 PMID: 11540698 Document Number: 483528
Researchers examined early otolith development in microgravity using fertilized eggs of the Japanese newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster in space flight. Ground experiments examined statocyst, embryonic statolith volume, and statoconia in the post-metamorphic marine mollusk Aplysia californica reared at 1-g and 2-5.7-g. Results indicate that exposure to hypergravity decreased the otolith mass to compensate for increased weight in Aplysia. In the Cynops, there was no compensatory difference in otolith mass, though otoconia production in the endolymphatic system was enhanced.