Distributional changes in branchial chloride cells during freshwater adaptation in Japanese sea bass Lateolabrax japonicus

Abstract

Distributional changes in branchial chloride cells were examined in Japanese sea bass (Lateolabrax japonicus) juveniles transferred from seawater (SW) to fresh water (FW) during their migration season toward low salinity habitat in nature. Chloride cells were identified by immunocytochemistry with a specific antiserum for Na+,K+-ATPase. In fish reared in SW as controls, branchial chloride cells were localized exclusively in the filaments and absent in the lamellae. When sea bass were transferred from SW to FW, chloride cells emerged in gill lamellae, starting at the proximal part of the lamellae and thereafter spread over the lamellar epithelium. On 7th and 15th days after FW transfer, chloride cells were mostly found on the lamellae, whereas the number of filament chloride cells was decreased. These results suggest that, in Japanese sea bass juveniles, chloride cells in the gill lamellae are important in FW adaptation, and that lamellar chloride cells originated from the filaments and migrated to the lamellae during FW adaptation.