Abstract
The formation of septate junctions at early stages in regeneration of hydra was studied from thin sections and freeze-fracture replicas. The observations show that septate junctions are lost after cellular dissociation, but they are reassembled rapidly after reaggregation. Reassembly accompanies the recovery of osmoregulatory ability in the regenerates. Assembly of septate junctions progresses through a stage that in thin sections resembles the appearance of continuous (smooth septate) junctions in arthropods. It is suggested from this observation that there may be a general developmental relationship between continuous and septate junctions. Interseptal material in hydra septate junctions binds heavy metals delineating septa by negative staining. This is interpreted as evidence that interseptal material binds cations and serves an important role in establishing the intercellular permeability barrier in Hydra. It is proposed that other invertebrate septate junctions have a fundamentally similar organization and function.
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