The gut microenvironment of helicid snails (Gastropoda: Pulmonata): in-situ profiles of pH, oxygen, and hydrogen determined by microsensors

Abstract

In-situ profiles of pH, oxygen, and hydrogen were measured in isolated guts of starved terrestrial gastropods belonging to four species, Cornu aspersum (syn. Helix aspersa), Elona quimperiana, Helix pomatia, and Helix lucorum (excepted pH), using Clark-type oxygen and hydrogen microsensors and liquid-ion-exchanger pH microelectrodes. The pH profiles in the two phyllophagous species, H. pomatia and C. aspersum, increased by 0.9 and 1.4 from the crop to the distal intestine (pH 6.4 and 7.4, respectively). In the saprophagous E. quimperiana, as in H. pomatia, the pH along the gut axis remained acidic (5.1–6.6), suggesting saprophagous habits in the latter. In all four species, no oxygen was detected in the gut lumen. Nevertheless, steep oxygen gradients around the gut epithelium indicated high oxygen-uptake rates. The estimated respiratory activity of the intestine ranged between 6.5 (E. quimperiana) and 13.1 (H. lucorum) μmol O2·g fresh mass–1·h–1. Hydrogen accumulated in the intestine and digestive gland of all snails tested, with the highest values in E. quimperiana and H. pomatia (58 and 78 μM, respectively). These results provide the basis for a better understanding of the microbial and biochemical processes involved in digestion.