Coenocyte

Coenocyte of Sphaeroforma arctica
Botrydium, showing a coenocytic body

A coenocyte (/ˈsiːnəˌsaɪt/) is a multinucleate cell which can result from multiple nuclear divisions without their accompanying cytokinesis, in contrast to a syncytium, which results from cellular aggregation followed by dissolution of the cell membranes inside the mass.[1] The word syncytium in animal embryology is used to refer to the coenocytic blastoderm of invertebrates.[2] A coenocytic colony is referred to as a coenobium (pl.: coenobia), and most coenobia are composed of a distinct number of cells, often as a multiple of two (4, 8, etc.).[3]

Research suggests that coenobium formation may be a defense against grazing in some species.[4]

  1. ^ Daubenmire, R. F. (1936). "The Use of the Terms Coenocyte and Syncytium in Biology". Science. 84 (2189): 533–34. Bibcode:1936Sci....84..533D. doi:10.1126/science.84.2189.533. PMID 17806555.
  2. ^ Willmer, P. G. (1990). Invertebrate Relationships: Patterns in Animal Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  3. ^ "coenobium". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 6 April 2019.
  4. ^ Lurling, M.; Beekman, W. (September 1999). "Grazer-induced defenses in scenedesmus (Chlorococcales; Chlorophyceae): coenobium and spine formation". Phycologia. 38 (5). United Kingdom, Lawrence: Allen Press Publishing Services: 368. doi:10.2216/i0031-8884-38-5-368.1. ISSN 0031-8884. ProQuest 198599556.