Open AccessCalcium uptake in the skin of a freshwater teleost.
Author(s) -
Stephen D. McCormick,
Sanaé Hasegawa,
Tetsuya Hirano
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.89.8.3635
Subject(s) - nile tilapia , operculum (bryozoa) , oreochromis , calcium , mitochondrion , biophysics , biology , seawater , tilapia , vertebrate , chemistry , fish <actinopterygii> , biochemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , anatomy , fishery , zoology , ecology , gene , organic chemistry , genus
The skin, particularly the opercular membrane of some teleosts, contains mitochondrion-rich "chloride" cells and has been widely used as a model to study branchial salt-extrusion mechanisms in seawater fish. Skin isolated from the operculum of the freshwater Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) can transport Ca2+ against an ionic and electrical gradient. Adaptation of Nile tilapia to a low-Ca2+ environment increased the capacity of the opercular membrane to transport Ca2+. The density of mitochondrion-rich cells increased in parallel with Ca2+ transport capacity. The results demonstrate net Ca2+ uptake by vertebrate skin and strongly implicate mitochondrion-rich cells as the site of Ca2+ uptake in fresh water.