Summary
Acclimation to low salinity induces changes in the ultrastructure of the gill cells of the marine euryhaline amphipod, Gammarus oceanicus. The gills are composed of a single cell type. In 100% artificial sea water, these cells contain moderate numbers of mitochondria which are randomly distributed in the cytoplasm. The plasma membrane is extensively invaginated at the apical, lateral, and basal surfaces. Acclimation to 20% artificial sea water induces a further invagination at the apical cell membrane to form an elaborate apical labyrinth. The extracellular spaces between the folds in the basal cell membrane dilate to 1500 Å or more. Mitochondria are more abundant and in many cells they undergo a change in conformation. The mitochondria are crowded into thin leaflets of cytoplasm between the dilated basal invaginations or into the narrow space between apical and basal cell membranes. Consequently, they lie in close contact with the plasma membrane over much of their surface.
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Supported in part by grants from the United States Public Health Service, 5 RO1 AM13455-03 and PHS FR-07085-04, and by a grant from the National Research Council of Canada administered by Dr. G. P. Morris.
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Milne, D.J., Ellis, R.A. The effect of salinity acclimation on the ultrastructure of the gills of Gammarus oceanicus (Segerstråle, 1947) (Crustacea: Amphipoda). Z.Zellforsch 139, 311–318 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00306588
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00306588