Phylum Pogonophora

Pogonophora
Also, known as Beard Worms Completely unknown until the twentieth century Tube-dwelling worms found throughout worlds oceans All 120 described species are marine

Attributes
Size- 5cm-1.5m long and 1mm 4cm in diameter Gonochoristic (having 2 distinct sexes) Closed circulatory system with heart Small brain with ventral nerve cord Protostomic development Picture taken from http://pubs.usgs.gov/publi cations//text/tube_worms. html

Defining Characteristics
No mouth or digestive tract Organ known as Trophosome filled with chemoautotrophic mutualistic bacteria Unsegmented except for rear portion of animal, (or opisthosoma). Conspicuous red color at ends of plume due to hemoglobin

Life Style
Sessile, living in long chitinous tubes Extends plume (anterior end) outward to obtain some nutrition and function in gas exchange Most found at depths of 200 meters and up Most often found by deep-sea hydrothermal vents, rifts and cold-water seeps

Body Structure
Divided into four sections: The cephalic lobe The glandular region The trunk And the opisthosoma Picture from http://clouseart.com/Ron/ weeklyinvert/archive/2001 0305.html

The Cephalic Lobe

Consists of a plume of one to many thousands of ciliated tentacles Used for gas exchange, and some nutrient uptake Also thought to be used to obtain Hydrogen Sulfide Picture taken from http://www.cyhaus.com/m arine/worms/worm2.jpg

The Glandular Region

Contains cells that secrete chitinous tube Some species contain girdle, (or vestimentum) in this region, which aids in keeping the worm steady in its tube Picture taken from http://wwwbiol.paisley.ac.uk/courses/ Tatner/biomedia/pictures/ pogon102.htm

The Trunk
The longest part of the pogonophoran body Contains a pair of uninterrupted coelomic cavities Bears a number of papillae, 2 regions of ciliation, and 2 girdles of setae Contains organs and gonads Picture taken from http://wwwbiol.paisley.ac.uk/courses/

The Opisthoma
Displays conspicuous segmentation Contains 5-30 segments isolated by septa Used to anchor worm in tube Not discovered as part of body until 1965, since it is generally buried in sediment

Modes of Nutrition
Since pogonophora lack a digestive tract many speculations have been made as to how they obtain nutrients: Via tentacles- many believe that some of the smaller species can obtain dissolved organic matter through their tentacles Via chemoautotrophic bacteria-The tentacles absorb hydrogen sulfide and transport it using hemoglobin to the trophosome where it is converted to carbohydrates by the many bacteria that live there

Interesting Facts
Recent research shows that pogonophora contain three types of hemoglobin This hemoglobin can simultaneously and reversibly bind to oxygen and sulfide at two different sites Thus the hemoglobin protects the animal tissues from sulfide toxicity by binding to sulfide with a higher affinity than cytochrome c oxidase, which is responsible for the toxic effects

Pogonophora: Phylum or Not?

With recent discoveries in DNA sequencing, the classification of Pogonophora as its own phylum has come into question. According to many recent studies involving the sequencing of the elongation factor-1 alpha and developmental studies comparing larvae and basic body plans has grouped the Phylum Pogonophora within the Phylum Annelida.