Digestion of brown algae and the distribution of nutrients in the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus
| Autor: | Reuben Lasker, Richard A. Boolootian |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 1964 |
| Předmět: |
Zoology
Phaeophyta chemistry.chemical_compound Phagocytosis Algae Dry weight biology.animal Animals Mannitol Gonads Strongylocentrotus purpuratus Sea urchin General Environmental Science Carbon Isotopes Chromatography biology Glycogen Ecology Research Macrocystis Eukaryota biology.organism_classification Body Fluids Intestines Brown algae chemistry General Earth and Planetary Sciences Digestion Echinodermata |
| Zdroj: | Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. 11:273-289 |
| ISSN: | 0010-406X |
| DOI: | 10.1016/0010-406x(64)90109-4 |
| Popis: | 1. 1. The purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus digests the brown algae Macrocytis pyrifera and Egregia Laevigata with high efficiency, averaging 80 per cent digested for the former and 62 per cent for the latter. The brown algae Petalonia fascia and Halidrys dioica are not the usual diet of this animal and are digested with lower efficiencies, 50 and 44 percent respectively. 2. 2. When digestive efficiencies during continual feeding are compared with those after a single feeding, there appears to be little difference between them. 3. 3. Macrocystis labeled with C 14 was fed to S. purpuratus and the time of appearance and distribution of C 14 were subsequently examined. Within a few hours the plasma of the perivisceral fluid becomes radioactive with a soluble product of digestion which proved to be mannitol, a sugar alcohol which comprises 30 per cent of the alga's dry weight (ash-free). Peaks of radioactivity in the plasma appear as often as radioactive meals are offered to the urchin. Over longer periods the C 14 is concentrated chiefly in the first and second circuits of the intestine, but incorporation of C 14 into the gonads occurs much more slowly. 4. 4. The red and white coelomocytes of the perivisceral fluid become radioactive later than the plasma. A high specific activity is reached and maintained in the red coelomocytes hours after the radioactive meal. The number of red coelomocytes in the perivisceral fluid fluctuates, suggesting that these cells may be migrating into and out of the perivisceral fluid. 5. 5. A chemical test for glycogen shows that the red coelomocytes are rich in this polysaccharide in well-fed urchins. 6. 6. Injection of radioactive red coelomocytes into the perivisceral fluid of a non-radioactive urchin results in a distribution of the radioactivity into the tissues of the chemical. 7. 7. Evidence is presented of hitherto unknown connections of the hemal system between the gonads and intestines. These connections are filled with re coelomocytes. 8. 8. It is suggested that the hemal system may represent a true ciculatory system in the sea urchin S. purpuratus and that the red coelomocytes distribute products of digestion throughout the body by this system. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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