Organization of a phyllobranchiate gill from the green shore crab Carcinus maenas (Crustacea, Decapoda)

Abstract

The phyllobranchiate gills of the green shore crab Carcinus maenas have been examined histologically and ultrastructurally. Each gill lamella is bounded by a chitinous cuticle. The apical surface of the branchial epithelium contacts this cuticle, and a basal lamina segregates the epithelium from an intralamellar hemocoel. In animals acclimated to normal sea water, five epithelial cell types can be identified in the lamellae of the posterior gills: chief cells, striated cells, pillar cells, nephrocytes, and glycocytes. Chief cells are the predominant cells in the branchial epithelium. They are squamous or low cuboidal and likely play a role in respiration. Striated cells, which are probably involved in ionoregulation, are also squamous or low cuboidal. Basal folds of the striated ceils contain mitochondria and interdigitate with the bodies and processes of adjacent ceils, Pillar cells span the hemocoel to link the proximal and distal sides of a lamella. Nephrocytes are large, spherical cells with voluminous vacuoles. They are rimmed by foot processes or pedicels and frequently associate with the pillar cells. Glycocytes are pleomorphic cells packed with glycogen granules and multigranular rosettes. The glycocytes often mingle with the nephrocytes. Inclusion of the nephrocytes and glycocytes as members of the branchial epithelium is justified by their participation in intercellular junctions and their position internal to the epithelial basal lamina.

Bioaccumulation of inorganic and methylated mercury by the gills of the shore crab Carcinus maenas: transepithelial fluxes and histochemical localization

“…The respective part of mercury taken up in the gill tissue and that adsorbed on the biofilm could not be quantified in the present study. As the algal coat is well known to be variable according to the stage of the molt cycle (Goodman & Cavey 1990), this could concomitantly result in large differences in mercury uptake and storage.…”

“…Pillar cells also hold up a central sheet of conjunctive tissue called the intralamellar septum. There are 5 main cell types in the gill lamellae (Goodman & Cavey 1990, Taylor & Taylor 1992: epithelial cells that are either thin (chief cells) or thick and mitochondria-rich (striated cells), pillar cells, nephrocytes and glycocytes in the lamellar septum and gill shaft. Fig.…”

“…This was done by using the isolated and perfused gill technique, which enabled us to quantify the transepithelial fluxes of Hg during a short period (2 h) while measuring the total accumulation in the organ. In a second step, we focused on the fine localization of mercury in gill tissues of C. maenas, a widespread species the gill structure of which has been extensively studied (Compère et al 1989, Goodman & Cavey 1990, Taylor & Taylor 1992, Lawson et al 1994). We applied the autometallographic histochemical technique (Danscher 1984, Soto et al 1996 to visualize the cellular localization of Hg in the gills, using both light and transmission electron microscopy.…”

Assessment of respiratory and ion transport potential of Penaeus japonicus gills in response to environmental pollution

“…The comparison with other species demonstrated that the gill epithelium is only slightly differentiated in P. japonicus. In other species such as Gecarcinus lateralis (COPELAND & FITZJARREL, 1968), Carcinus maenas (GOODMAN & CAVEY, 1988, 1990COMPERE et al, 1989) and Procambarus clarkia (BURGGREN et al, 1974), two types of epithelia coexisted in the gill, a thin one supposedly implicated in gas exchange, and a differentiated epithelium involved in hydromineral exchanges. In adult P. japonicus, only one type of epithelium with apical microvilli but without basal enfoldings could be observed (BOUARICHA et al, 1994).…”

Mitochondrial ATPase in the gills of the shore crabCarcinus maenas

“…In crustacean gills, the basolateral membranes are closely associated with high numbers of prolonged mitochondria. Mitochondrial densities and lengths become reduced in the regions beneath the apical membrane layers; while apical membranes themselves are seemingly not associated with mitochondria (Copeland & Fitzjarrel, 1968;Goodman & Cavey, 1990).…”