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First published online March 28, 2008
Journal of Experimental Biology 211, 1231-1242 (2008)
Published by The Company of Biologists 2008
doi: 10.1242/jeb.015248

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A comparative analysis of putative oxygen-sensing cells in the fish gill

Emily H. Coolidge, Cosima S. Ciuhandu^* and William K. Milsom

Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, 6270 University Blvd, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada

^* Author for correspondence (e-mail: ciuhandu{at}zoology.ubc.ca)

Accepted 12 February 2008

We investigated the distribution of serotonin (5-HT)-containing neuroepithelial cells (NECs), the putative O₂ sensing cells, in the gills of four species of fish: trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), goldfish (Carassius auratus), trairão (Hoplias lacerdae) and traira (Hoplias malabaricus) using immunohistochemical markers for 5-HT, synaptic vesicles and neural innervation. We found that all fish had a cluster of innervated, serotonergic NECs at the filament tips, but there were species-specific distributions of serotonin-containing NECs within the primary gill filaments. Trout gill filaments had a greater number of serotonin-containing NECs than both trairão and traira, whereas goldfish primary filaments had none. Serotonin-containing NECs in the secondary lamellae were most numerous in goldfish, present in trairão and traira, but absent in trout. Those found in the primary filament were generally associated with the efferent filamental artery. Innervated, serotonin-containing cells (NECs or Merkel-like cells) were also found in the gill rakers of trout and goldfish although vesicular serotonin was only found in the gill rakers of goldfish. These differences in serotonergic NEC distribution appear to reflect paracrine versus chemoreceptive roles related to hypoxia tolerance in the different fish species.

Key words: fish chemoreceptors, neuroepithelial cells, serotonin, gill raker

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