Histochemical study of skin and gills of Senegal sole, Solea senegalensis larvae and adults

C. Sarasquete1, M.L. González de Canales2, J. Arellano1, J.A. Muñoz Cueto2, L. Ribeiro3 and M.T. Dinis3

1Institut of Sea Sciences of Andalucía, C.SI.C. Polígono Rio San Pedro, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain, 2Departament if Animal and Plant Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Sea Sciences, University of Cádiz, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain and 3Unit of Science and Technology of Water Resources, Universidade do Algarve, Faro, Portugal

Offprint requests to: Dr. Carmen Sarasquete, Instituto de Ciencias Marinas de Andalucía, CSIC, Polígono Rio San Pedro, 11510 Apdo. oficial, Puerto Real, Cádiz, Spain. FAX: 34-956834701. e-mail: carmen.sarasquete@icman.csic.es

Summary. A battery of horseradish peroxidase-conjugated lectins (Con A, WGA and DBA), as well as conventional histochemical techniques (PAS, saponifica-tion, Alcian Blue pH 0.1, 1, 2.5, chlorhydric hydrolisis, neuraminidase, Bromophenol blue, Tioglycollate reduction and Ferric-ferricyanide-FeIII) were used to study the content and distribution of carbohydrates, proteins and glycoconjugate sugar residues on the skin and gills of Senegal sole, Solea senegalensis larvae and adults.

During larval development of Solea senegalensis (from hatching until day 45 posthatching), epidermal sacciform, as well as branchial and epidermal chloride cells were unreactive with all cytochemical tests performed in this paper. Mucous or goblet cells of the corporal skin and gills containing strongly sulphated acid glycoproteins were evident on days 15-20 of larval development, as well as in epidermal and branchial mucous cells of adult specimens, which also contained GlcNAc and/or sialic acid. In adult specimen, the proteic content was higher in branchial mucous cells than in epidermal cells. In larvae, variable amounts of glyco-proteins containing sialic acid, GlcNAc, GalNAc, Man and/or Glc residues were observed in epithelial cells and/or cuticle. GlcNAc and/or sialic acid sugar residues were only weakly detected in glycoproteins of some epidermal and branchial mucous cells of larvae by day 45, because from hatching until metamorphosis, lectin reactions (WGA, Con A and DBA) were negative in mucous cells. Histol. Histopathol. 13, 727-735 (1998)

Key words: Skin, Gills, Glycoproteins, Carbohydrates, Proteins, Histochemistry, Larvae, Adults, Solea senegalensis

DOI: 10.14670/HH-13.727