Structure and Function of the Axillary Organ of the Gulf Toadfish, Opsanus beta (Goode and Bean)
Date
1998Author
Maina, JN
Wood, CM
Walsh, PJ
Gibbs, PDL
Hopkins, TE
Hogstrand, C
Luo, Y-H
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The structure of the axillary organ of a batrachoidid species, the gulf toadfish (Opsanus beta Goode and Bean 1879), has been examined and several simple experiments designed to elucidate its function performed. Electron microscopy (EM) studies revealed cells and structures suggesting secretory and iono regulatory roles (e.g., abundant intracytoplasmic secretory particles, rough endoplasmic reticulum, sparse Golgi bodies, indented epithelial cells with microvilli, numerous endocytotic vesicles, etc.). Our physiological experiments allowed us to reach several conclusions: the organs do not excrete significant quantities of urea relative to other areas of the fish (head and gills), the organs do not secrete a substance that is toxic to a teleost test fish (Gambusia affinis), the secretions do not induce short-term modifications in locomotory activity of other gulf toadfish (e.g., by pheromonal means) and the secretions do not inhibit the growth of several species of microorganisms in culture. The function of the organ and its secretions remains unknown, representing a fertile area for research on structure and function in comparative physiology.
URI
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1095643397004108http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/50221
Citation
Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A: Molecular & Integrative Physiology Volume 119, Issue 1, January 1998, Pages 17–26Publisher
ScienceDirect Department of Veterinary Anatomy, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4K1 Canada T. H. Morgan School of Biological Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506-0225, USA Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Naples, FL 33962, USA Division of Marine Biology and Fisheries, NIEHS Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences Center, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33149, USA