Cytochemical demonstration of acid mucopolysaccharides in the epicuticular surface coat of the crab Carcinus maenas (L.) (Crustacea, Decapoda)
Compère, P.; Goffinet, G. (1995). Cytochemical demonstration of acid mucopolysaccharides in the epicuticular surface coat of the crab Carcinus maenas (L.) (Crustacea, Decapoda). Belg. J. Zool. 125(1): 95-100
In: Belgian Journal of Zoology. Koninklijke Belgische Vereniging voor Dierkunde = Société royale zoologique de Belgique: Gent. ISSN 0777-6276; e-ISSN 2295-0451, more
Also appears in:Schockaert, E.R. (Ed.) (1995). Proceedings of the First Benelux Congress of Zoology, Leuven, 4-5 November 1994. Belgian Journal of Zoology, 125(1). Koninklijke Belgische Vereniging voor Dierkunde = Société royale zoologique de Belgique: Diepenbeek. 263 pp., more
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| Keyword |
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| Author keywords |
ACID MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDES; CUTICLE; CARCINUS MAENAS; CYTOCHEMISTRY |
| Abstract |
The epicuticle of marine decapod crustaceans is composed of three sublayers: the inner epicuticle, the cuticulin layer, and the surface coat which was previously described as an external layer rich in tannophilic proteins. Positive staining by ruthenium red and alcian blue suggest the presence in this layer of polyanionic sites and acid mucopolysaccharides. The surface coat might be viewed as a hydrophilic glycoproteinaceous layer reducing the surface tension between the hydrophobic cuticulin layer and the aqueous environment. |
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