MORPHOLOGY OF NURSE CELL-NUCLEI INDUCED BY MELOIDODERA-FLORIDENSIS - A COMPUTER-GRAPHICS APPLICATION

The highly irregular distribution of nuclear material in the host nurs e cell induced by Meloidodera floridensis has made it difficult to int erpret the number of nuclei from two-dimensional micrographs alone. Th e primary.goal of this investigation was to determine the distribution of nuclear material from a three-dimensional solid surface model of t he nurse cell nucleus. This model demonstrated the continuity of nucle ar material as a single highly irregular nucleus. Custom computer grap hics programs were written to accept digitized tracings of nuclear mat erial. From these digitized tracings, a wireframe or polygonalized mes h model was generated. The model was shaded, colored, rotated, and ana lyzed. This technique provides controlled transparency of the model to display nucleoli within the nucleus. Photographs of the computer scre en, color printouts, and video recordings were used to record final re sults. These refined computer graphic tools have a range of applicatio ns in nematode host-parasite relationships, ontogeny, and morphology.