Histochemistry of mucosubstances on the pedal sole of five abalone species

Abstract

The present study describes histochemical properties of the mucosubstances in the pedal sole of abalone, in relation to two main additional functions known to date. Only neutral mucosubstances were demonstrated in the lateral epithelium of the pedal sole of the abalone, however, two distinct types of cells, one containing neutral and the other containing acidic mucosubstances, were identified in the ventral epithelium. The epithelial mucocytes distributed throughout both epithelial and subepithelial glands located in the ventral subepithelial region showed a mixture of neutral and acidic mucosubstances. However, acidic mucosubstances were found in larger amounts than neutral ones in epithelial mucocytes, and vice versa in subepithelial glands. Among these acidic mucosubstances, sulphated substances were dominant. Lesser amounts of carboxylated substances also occurred together with low levels of neuramic and sialic acid. Collectively, the notable morphological differences between abalone and other gastropoda were observed in the ventral surface of the foot, which showed a tall columnar epithelium, peripherally concentrated mucocytes, and subepithelial glands. Mucosubstances are presumably produced by these cells and may also play a role in clinging to some substances to support abalones in addition to the main functions of lubrication and protection.