Skip Navigation


Journal Molluscan Studies Advance Access originally published online on July 2, 2009
Journal of Molluscan Studies 2009 75(4):371-380; doi:10.1093/mollus/eyp034
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
75/4/371    most recent
eyp034v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Pinchuck, S. C.
Right arrow Articles by Hodgson, A. N.
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Pinchuck, S. C.
Right arrow Articles by Hodgson, A. N.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Malacological Society of London, all rights reserved

Comparative structure of the lateral pedal defensive glands of three species of Siphonaria (Gastropoda: Basommatophora)

Shirley C. Pinchuck1,2 and Alan N. Hodgson2

1Electron Microscopy Unit, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa; and 2Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa

Correspondence: S. Pinchuck; e-mail: s.pinchuck{at}ru.ac.za


  Abstract

Histology and electron microscopy were used to describe and compare the structure of the dorso-lateral pedal defensive glands of three species of marine Basommatophora, Siphonaria capensis, S. serrata and S. gigas. All three species possessed multicellular glands, but these were largest and most abundant in S. capensis. In S. capensis and S. serrata, defensive glands were composed of two types (type I and II) of large secretory cells filled with product and some irregularly shaped support cells that surrounded a central lumen. The product of both cell types was produced by organelles confined to the bases of the cells. The entire gland was surrounded by a well-developed layer of smooth muscle and collagen. Type I cells stained positively for neutral and sulphated mucins, and observed with transmission electron microscope (TEM) the product had a reticulate appearance. By contrast type II gland cells stained positively for acidic mucins and the secretory product was formed as large granular vesicles. The products from both types of cell, which appeared to be secreted by holocrine secretion, mixed in the lumen of the duct. Individuals of S. gigas had two types of lateral pedal glands, a large multicellular type and a tubular unicellular gland. The multicellular glands, which were surrounded by poorly developed muscle, contained one type of gland cell that stained for neutral and sulphated mucins only, as well as some support cells. The tubular glands contained a heterogeneous product that stained positively for neutral and sulphated mucins.

(Received 4 November 2008; accepted 28 April 2009)


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.