Effects of tri-n-butyltin(IV) chloride on neurulation of Ciona intestinalis (Tunicata, Ascidiacea):: an ultrastructural study

This paper reports the cytotoxic effects of tri-n-butyltin (IV) chloride, TBTCl, on the neurulation process of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Exposure of the embryos at early neurula stage in 10(-5) and 10(-7) M TBT (IV) chloride solutions for 1-2 h provoked the irreversible arrest of their development. Morphological and ultrastructural observations suggested that most probably there are two principal causes determining the neurulation process block. The first is due to the TBT effects of inhibiting the polymerization and/or degradation of microfilaments and microtubules, proteins that constitute the cytoskeleton. The lack of orientation and extension of both microtubules and microfilaments of actin prevent the shape changes and mobility of neural plate blastomeres indispensable to the neurulation process. The second cause is certainly determined by the ultrastructural modification which mitochondria undergo. The ultrastructural anomalies showed by these organules are so serious as to impede their proper functionality with consequent inhibition of oxidative phosphorylation and ATP synthesis, remarkable metabolic processes that occur during ascidian neurulation. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.