INVESTIGADORES
BAS Claudia Cristina
artículos
Título:
Adaptive differences in digestion enzyme activity in the crab Neohelice granulata in relation to sex and habitat.
Autor/es:
LANCIA, JUAN; FERNÁNDEZ-GIMÉNEZ, ANALÍA; BAS CLAUDIA; SPIVAK, EDUARDO
Revista:
JOURNAL OF CRUSTACEAN BIOLOGY
Editorial:
CRUSTACEAN SOC
Referencias:
Lugar: Lawrence, Kansas, USA; Año: 2012 vol. 32 p. 940 - 948
ISSN:
0278-0372
Resumen:
Neohelice granulata (Dana, 1851) is a semi-terrestrial burrowing crab that inhabits estuaries and saltmarshes feeding on grasses or sediment
depending on the microhabitat they occupy (vegetated saltmarsh or bare mudflat). Specific cellulolytic, amylolytic, and proteolytic enzyme
activities were analyzed in midgut gland homogenates of males and females from each microhabitat fed in the laboratory with Spartina
densiflora leaves and sediment, respectively, in order to detect sex, food and microhabitat related differences. The presence of β-1,4-
glucosidase, endo-β-1,4-glucanase, α amylase, trypsin and chymotrypsin were confirmed. Specific cellulolytic activity was higher in crabs
fed on leaves than in those fed on sediment or in no fed controls and variable differences between sexes were observed. Specific amylase
activity of crabs fed on leaves was the lowest recorded. Trypsin and chymotrypsin specific activities were higher in saltmarsh crabs fed on
leaves than in mudflat crabs fed on sediment. Different mechanisms of enzyme regulation to explain the observed differences among groups
were suggested. Additionally, differences between sexes suggest different metabolic needs related to gonad maturation. It is concluded that
N. granulata has the ability to adapt digestive enzyme production to support its physiological and metabolic needs based on the different
food sources available at each microhabitat