Abstract
BackgroundLimnoperna fortunei is a freshwater bivalve mollusc originally from southern Asia that invaded South America in the 1990’s. Due to its highly efficient water pumping and filtering, and its capacity to form strong adhesions to a variety of substrates by byssus thread, this invasive species has been able to adapt to several environments across South America, causing significant ecological and economic damages. By gaining a deeper understanding of the biological and ecological aspects of L. fortunei we will be able to establish more effective strategies to manage its invasion. The gills of the mollusc are key structures responsible for several biological functions, including respiration and feeding. In this work, we characterized the ultrastructure of L. fortunei gills and its ciliary epithelium using light microscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopies. This is the first report of the morphology of the epithelial cells and cilia of the gill of L. fortunei visualized in high resolution.ResultsThe analysis showed highly organized and abundant ciliary structures (lateral cilia, laterofrontal cirri and frontal cilia) on the entire length of the branchial epithelium. Mitochondria, smooth endoplasmic reticulum and glycogen granules were abundantly found in the epithelial cells of the gills, demonstrating the energy-demanding function of these structures. Neutral mucopolysaccharides (low viscosity mucus) were observed on the frontal surface of the gill filaments and acid mucopolysaccharides (high viscosity mucus) were observed to be spread out, mainly on the lateral tract. Spherical vesicles, possibly containing mucus, could also be observed in these cells. These findings demonstrate the importance of the mucociliary processes in particle capture and selection.ConclusionsOur data suggest that the mechanism used by this mollusc for particle capture and selection could contribute to a better understanding of key aspects of invasion and also in the establishment of more efficient and economically viable strategies of population control.
Highlights
Limnoperna fortunei is a freshwater bivalve mollusc originally from southern Asia that invaded South America in the 1990’s
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A larger particle could be observed at the lateral tract (Fig. 3) and several smaller particles were observed attached to the lc and lfc (Fig. 3c-d)
Summary
Limnoperna fortunei is a freshwater bivalve mollusc originally from southern Asia that invaded South America in the 1990’s. Limnoperna fortunei is a bivalve belonging to the family Mytilidae (subclass Pteriomorphia and order Mytiloida) and is originally native to Southeast Asia (including China and South Korea) [4] The arrival of this invasive mollusc in South America occurred in the early 1990’s, possibly transported by ballast waters from cargo ships originating in Asia due to the increase in trade routes between the two continents [5]. As a prolific suspension feeder, L. fortunei has one of the highest reported clearance rates for suspension-feeding bivalves, including other invasive species such as Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas 1771), Dreissena bugensis (Andrusov 1897) and C. fluminea This filtering capacity was analysed under laboratory conditions using cells from the alga Chlorella vulgaris. This attribute has already been evaluated in studies involving the accumulation and dynamics of microplastics [13] and herbicides, such as glyphosate [14, 15]
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