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Morphology Of Rhogocytes In Megathura Crenulata And Their Synthesis Of Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin., Alanna Martin, Gary Martin, Robert Butler

Gary Martin

Rhogocytes are morphologically distinct cells distributed throughout connective tissues of crustaceans and molluscs. Using light microscopy, rhogocytes of the vetigastropod Megathura crenulata were identified by their ovoid shape, and their cytoplasm filled with spherical inclusions which contained lysosomal enzymes, based on uptake of neutral red and staining with LysoTracker dye. Rhogocytes were most abundant in the digestive gland (2,824 rhogocytes/mm2), followed by the connective tissue layer surrounding the middle and posterior esophagus and intestine (1,431 rhogocytes/mm2, 872 rhogocytes/mm2, and 1,190 rhogocytes/mm2, respectively), and were lowest in abundance in the foot (154 rhogocytes/mm2). At the transmission electron microscopy level, characteristic features …