Mantle-to-shell CaCO3 transfer during shell repair at different hydrostatic pressures in the deep-sea vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus (Bivalvia: Mytilidae)
Kádár, E.; Lobo-Da-Cunha, A.; Azevedo, C. (2009). Mantle-to-shell CaCO3 transfer during shell repair at different hydrostatic pressures in the deep-sea vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus (Bivalvia: Mytilidae). Mar. Biol. (Berl.) 156(5): 959-967. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-009-1140-2
In: Marine Biology: International Journal on Life in Oceans and Coastal Waters. Springer: Heidelberg; Berlin. ISSN 0025-3162; e-ISSN 1432-1793, more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Kádár, E.
- Lobo-Da-Cunha, A.
- Azevedo, C.
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| Abstract |
Calcium carbonate transfer was experimentally examined in hydrothermal mussels Bathymodiolus azoricus, which were collected from 850 m depth at Menez Gwen hydrothermal vent site (31°31'W, 37°50'N) on the Mid Atlantic Ridge in May 2007. In each of four 10-day experiments, groups of mussels were maintained at atmospheric pressure or re-pressurised to depths relevant to their site of occurrence, i.e. 850 m depth at Menez Gwen, 1,750 m at Lucky Strike (31°31'W, 37°18'N) and 2,300 m at Rainbow (31°31'W, 36°13'N). The shells of experimental mussels were perforated and mantle tissue was fixed for light and TEM studies at days 7 and 10 following the injury. Simultaneously, haemocytes from the extrapallial fluid (EPF) at the site of induction were studied. At day 7 the response was most intense in the middle fold of the mantle margin and possibly proportional to hydrostatic pressure. At day 10 the epithelial cells on the mantle surface facing the body cavity produced copious organic secretions that avidly bound calcium. Haemocyte migration was noted within the mantle tissue, and the haemocytes at the mantle surface facing the shell had a Ca-positive granular content. Large haemocytes were detected in the EPF at the injury site, and some showed evidence of an immune reaction while others showed Ca-positive granular content. These results suggest that haemocytes are involved in shell repair in these deep-sea mussels just as in some freshwater and shallow marine molluscs. |
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