In collaboration with Miao-Fang Lin Althshuller – MS degree 1995, we studied the organization of the larval and juvenile nervous systems in Tritia. All of the major adult ganglia are present in larvae by 12 days after hatching (Lin and Leise, 1996a). During metamorphosis, the apical ganglion (AG, also called the cephalic sensory organ) is lost and there is some rearrangement of the remaining ganglia. We later learned that the AG is lost early in metamorphosis through a form of programmed cell death (Gifondorwa and Leise, 2006).
Above Left: Ganglia of the nervous system of a competent larva include the apical ganglion.
Above Right: Ganglia of the nervous system in a newly metamorphosed juvenile lack the apical ganglion.
