The effects of the calcium concentration on chloride cell (mitochondria-rich cell) density in the gills of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) larvae were studied. For this purpose, animals were divided into 3 groups 2 weeks after hatching and each groups was exposed to different calcium concentrations of water for two weeks. | Turk J Biol 24 (2000) 331–336 © TÜBİTAK The Effect of Calcium Concentration of Water on Chloride Cell Density in Gill of Brown Trout (Salmo trutta L.) Larvae Metin ÇALTA Fırat Üniversitesi, Su Ürünleri Fakültesi, Temel Bilimleri Bölümü 23119 Elazığ-TURKEY Received: Abstract: The effects of the calcium concentration on chloride cell (mitochondria-rich cell) density in the gills of brown trout (Salmo trutta L.) larvae were studied. For this purpose, animals were divided into 3 groups 2 weeks after hatching and each groups was exposed to different calcium concentrations of water for two weeks. The results showed that the number of chloride cells in gill arch epithelia of larval fish increased with decreased calcium increase was statistically significant in the gills of larvae kept in zero-Ca2+ freshwater (ZCWF) (P mmol l-1), even when food is withheld for long periods (1, 2). 331 The Effect of Calcium Concentration of Water on Chloride Cell Density in Gill of Brown Trout (Salmo trutta L.) Larvae Altohough calcium enters the fish trough the gills, intestines and skin, the gills are a particularly important calcium uptake site. Chloride cells, whic have been implicated in active calcium uptake (3, 4, 5), are located in the gill epithelium and the body integument. Chloride cells were originally described by Keys and Willmer, 1932 (6) in the gill of seawateradapted teleosts. They called them “chloride secreting cells”. These cells have been shown to be the site of C1- -secretion in the gill and skin of seawater-adapted teleosts (7). However, these cells are often termed chloride cells, even when found in freshwater-adapted teleosts, where a C1- -secretory function is unlikely and a C1- -uptake function is uncertain (8, 9). Chloride cells are rich in mitochondria. There is considerable indirect evidence to implicate the chloride cells as the site of branchial calcium uptake. Morphological evidence has provided indirect evidence that
