Archaeocytes (from

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

'' archaios'' "beginning" and '' kytos'' "hollow vessel") or amoebocytes are

amoeboid An amoeba (; less commonly spelled ameba or amœba; plural ''am(o)ebas'' or ''am(o)ebae'' ), often called an amoeboid, is a type of cell or unicellular organism with the ability to alter its shape, primarily by extending and retracting pseudopo ...

cells found in sponges. They are

totipotent Pluripotency: These are the cells that can generate into any of the three Germ layers which imply Endodermal, Mesodermal, and Ectodermal cells except tissues like the placenta. According to Latin terms, Pluripotentia means the ability for many thin ...

and have varied functions depending on the

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. The structure of these cells match to that of the stem cells as of containing high cytoplasmic content that helps the cells to morph according to their function.

Location

Archaeocytes are along with other specialized sponge cells including collencytes and structural elements called

spicule Spicules are any of various small needle-like anatomical structures occurring in organisms Spicule may also refer to: *Spicule (sponge), small skeletal elements of sea sponges *Spicule (nematode), reproductive structures found in male nematodes ( ...

s. They move about within the mesohyl with amoeba-like movements performing a number of important functions.

Functions

Cellular differentiation is an essential function of the archaeocyte. All specialized cells within the sponge have its origins with the archaeocyte. This is especially important in reproduction as the sex cells of the sponge in

sexual reproduction Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that involves a complex life cycle in which a gamete ( haploid reproductive cells, such as a sperm or egg cell) with a single set of chromosomes combines with another gamete to produce a zygote th ...

are formed from these amoeboid cells. Similarly in asexual reproduction amoebocytes result in the formation of

gemmule Gemmules are internal buds found in sponges and are involved in asexual reproduction. It is an asexually reproduced mass of cells, that is capable of developing into a new organism i.e., an adult sponge. Role in asexual reproduction Asexual ...

s which are cyst-like spheres containing more amoebocytes as well as other sponge cells including the phylum specific

choanocyte Choanocytes (also known as "collar cells") are cells that line the interior of asconoid, syconoid and leuconoid body types of sponges that contain a central flagellum, or ''cilium,'' surrounded by a collar of microvilli which are connected by a ...

. These cells move within the walls of a sponge and form spicules.

References

* * Sponge anatomy Cell biology Animal cells {{Cell-biology-stub