Abstract
This study was performed to evaluate the possible role of bacteria as a food source for mussel larvae. Six pure strains of bacteria, isolated from marine samples, were used for these experiments. They were distributed to ten days old larvae which had been starved for 24 hours. At fixed intervals, some larvae were sampled and fixed for observations by transmission electron microscopy. All the bacterial strains used (belonging to different taxonomic groups) were found to be ingested by the larvae. With the exception of a Gram positive coccal bacterium, they were also digested. The digestion occured in the stomach where lysed cells were observed, inside and outside the crystalline style. At the end of the digestive process, empty bacterial envelopes were found, accumulated between the crystalline style and the cilliated epithelium of the stomach. Up to twenty four hours following presentation of the bacteria, lysed and normal cells were simultaneously observed in the hind gut of the larvae. The role of bacteria in the nutrition of bivalves larvae is discussed.
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