ИСТИНА

On the basis of evidence on parasitic and soil nematodes, all nematodes are commonly believed to keep their cell number constant (i.e., be eutelic animals). Free-living marine nematodes were recently shown to differ from soil and parasitic nematodes by their organization and development. In this work we report that none of the studied free-living marine nematode species exhibit eutely in the hypodermic structure. Hence, the commonly accepted hypothesis that all nematodes are eutelic animals appears to be incorrect as being based on studies of parasitic and soil-dwelling forms.