Abstract
Moisture is a limiting factor for the survival and distribution of earthworms. During rainy season earthworms come out from their water-filled burrows and during summer move deeper into the soil to prevent acute desiccational water loss. Moisture loving worms like Eudrilus eugeniae when subjected to the dry soil and then subsequently hydrated, both the types of neurosecretory cells (A and B cells) show contrasting neurosecretory changes. During dehydration stress (2, 4 & 6 hours), both A and B cells deplete, lose their cellular conformity with extensive vacuolation. But in subsequent hydration of desiccated worms for 4 hrs, there is accumulation of neurosecretory materials in both types of cells, chiefly in A cells. The result indicates involvement of both A and B neurosecretory cells during osmotic stress from the perspective of histomorphic variations and secretory dynamics.
Highlights
Earthworms are often exposed to the events like flooding of water during rainy season and face the problem of acute desiccational water loss during summer
It is reasonable that earthworms subjected to osmotic stress like dehydration and subsequent hydration is overcome by the secretion of the neurohormone from the central nervous system neurosecretory cells of earthworms
The aim of our present paper is to study the effects of dehydration and subsequent hydration stress on the cytomorphological changes in the cerebral neurosecretory system in Eudrilus eugeniae (Eudrilidae)
Summary
Earthworms are often exposed to the events like flooding of water during rainy season and face the problem of acute desiccational water loss during summer. The activity of earthworm depends upon the moisture content of the soils as water constitutes 75-90% of the body weight of earthworms [1]. Under extreme drought condition the earthworms move deeper inside the soils but in monsoon after a heavy rain or flood they come out from their waterfilled burrows. The earthworms do not possess any epithelial endocrine gland. Any kind of physiological activity such as osmoregulation, thermal acclimation, etc. It is reasonable that earthworms subjected to osmotic stress like dehydration and subsequent hydration is overcome by the secretion of the neurohormone from the central nervous system neurosecretory cells of earthworms
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