6. On the possibly kystic nature of multilamellar corpuscles in the midgut gland (MGG) of the apple-snail Pomacea canaliculata (I)

ALBRECHT EA, VEGA IA, GAMARRA-LUQUES CD, KOCH E, CASTRO-VAZQUEZ A

San Luis

Congreso; XIX Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2001

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

Under the light microscope, K corpuscles are large, dark-brown concretions apparently contained within alveolar pyramidal cells in the MGG. They have long been interpreted as excretory bodies, although we thought that they might be the kystic counterpart of C corpuscles, the putative vegetative form of a symbiont in the neighbouring columnar cells. Electron microscope studies on MGG alveoli were made. K bodies are contained within a thin cytoplasmic layer, which seems engulfed by the RER-filled cytoplasm of pyramidal cells. The thin, mitochondria bearing cytoplasmic layer might be an extrusion of the neighbouring columnar cells. The electron dense material deposited as the multiple layers of K corpuscles may be syntethized, at least in part, in pyramidal cells and transferred to K corpuscles.