Summary
Under conditions of food deprivation, the hindgut epithelium of the experimental animals (Mesidotea entomon, Oniscus asellus, Porcellio scaber) undergoes ultrastructural changes. After the application of different diets it was demonstrated that this part of the alimentary canal contains nutrients, though it is lined by a cuticle. Experimental evidence for the formation of glycogen from glucose offered as the only diet comes from autoradiographic experiments. Amino acids, too, were detected in the hindgut cells soon after refeeding. Lipids, on the other hand, which are first absorbed by the large cells of the midgut glands, were not found in the hindgut epithelium. The existence of lipid inclusions in the hindgut epithelium some weeks after refeeding, however, supports the hypothesis that lipids reach the epithelial cells of the hindgutvia midgut glands and hemolymph.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Alikhan MA (1972) The fine structure of the midgut epithelium in the woodlouse,Porcellio laevis Latreille (Isopoda, Porcelionidae). Crustaceana Sup 3: 101–109
Clifford B, Witkus ER (1971) The fine structure of the hepatopancreas of the woodlouseOniscus asellus. J Morphol 135: 335–349
Coruzzi L, Witkus R, Vernon GM (1982) Function-related structural characters and their modifications in the hindgut epithelium of two terrestrial isopods,Armadillidium vulgare andOniscus asellus. Exp Cell Biol 50: 229–240
Goodrich AL (1939) The origin and fate of the entoderm elements in the embryogeny ofPorcellio laevis Latr. andArmadillidium nasutum B. L. (Isopoda). J Morphol 64: 401–429
Herold L, Goggins JA, Witkus ER, Vernon GM (1976) Annulate lamellae in hindgut epithelial cells of Isopoda. Protoplasma 87: 291–296
Holdich DM (1973) The midgut/hindgut controversy in isopods. Crustaceana 24: 21–27
—,Ratcliffe NA (1970) A light and electron microscope study of the hindgut of the herbivorous isopod,Dynamene bidentata (Crustacea: Peracarida). Z Zellforsch 111: 209–227
—,Mayes KR (1975) A fine-structural reexamination of the socalled “midgut” of the isopodPorcellio. Crustaceana 29: 186–192
Hryniewiecka-Szyfter Z, Tyczewska J (1978) The fine structure of the hepatopancreas ofMesidotea entomon L. (Crustacea, Isopoda). Bull Soc Amis Sci Lettr Poznań, sér D 18: 70–79
— — (1979) Fine structure and localization of alkaline phosphatase in the hindgut ofMesidotea entomon L. (Crustacea, Isopoda). Bull Soc Amis Sci Lettr Poznań, sér D 19: 57–64
- (in press) Changes in the epithelium of the anterior region of the hindgut ofMesidotea entomon (Crustacea, Isopoda) correlated with haematopoiesis. Bull Soc Amis Sci Lettr Poznań, sér D, 26
Jones DA, Babbage PC, King PE (1969) Studies on digestion and the fine structure of digestive caeca inEurydice pulchra (Crustacea: Isopoda). Mar Biol, Berlin (West) 2: 311–320
Lindquist OV, Fitzgerald G (1976) Osmotic relationship between blood and gut fluids in the isopodPorcellio scaber Latr (Crustacea). Comp Biochem Physiol [A] 53: 57–69
Madrell SHP, Gardiner BOC (1980) The permeability of the cuticular lining of the insect alimentary canal. J Exp Biol 85: 227–237
Murlin JR (1902) Absorption and secretion in the digestive system of land isopods. Proc Acad Nat Sci Phi 54: 284–359
Nichollis AG (1931) Studies onLigia oceanica. II. J mar biol Ass UK 17: 675–707
Prosser CL (1973) Respiratory function of blood. In:Plosser CL (ed) Comparative animal physiology. W. B. Saunders Co, Philadelphia
Smith JM, Nadakavukaren MJ, Hetzel HR (1975) Light and electron microscopy of the hepatopancreas of the isopodAsellus intermedius. Cell Tiss Res 163: 403–410
Smith WJ, Witkus ER, Grillo RS (1969) Structural adaptation for ion and water transport in the hindgut of the woodlouseOniscus ascellus. J Cell Biol 43: 135–136
Steeves HR (1963) The effects of starvation on glycogen and lipid metabolism in the isopodLirceus brachyurus (Harger). J Exp Zool 154: 21–37
Storch V (1984) The influence of nutritional stress on the ultrastructure of the hepatopancreas of terrestrial isopods. Symp Zool Soc London 53: 167–184
—,Lehnert-Moritz K (1980) The effects of starvation on the hepatopancreas of the isopodLigia oceanica. Zool Anz 204: 137–146
Štrus J, Burkhardt P, Storch V (1985) The ultrastructure of the midgut glands inLigia italica (Isopoda) under different nutritional conditions. Helgoländer Meeresunters 39: 367–374
Sutton SL (1972) Woodlice. Pergamon Press, pp 144
Thomas KK, Nation YL (1984) Absorption of glucose, glycine and palmitic acid by isolated midgut and hindgut from crickets. Comp Biochem Physiol 79 A: 289–295
Vernon GM, Herold L, Witkus ER (1974) Fine structure in the digestive tract epithelium in the terrestrial isopodArmadillidium vulgare. J Morphol 144: 337–360
Wägele JW, Welsch U, Müller W (1981) Fine structure and function of the digestive tract ofCyathura carinata (Krøyer) (Crustacea, Isopoda). Zoomorphology 98: 69–88
Witkus ER, Grillo R, Smith WJ (1969) Microtubule bundles in the hindgut epithelium of the woodlouseOniscus asellus. J Ultrastruct Res 29: 182–190
Zimmermann H-P, Granzow V, Granzow C (1976) Nuclear glycogen synthesis in Ehrlich ascites cells. J Ultrastruct Res 54: 115–123
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hryniewiecka-Szyfter, Z., Storch, V. The influence of starvation and different diets on the hindgut of isopoda (Mesidotea entomon, Oniscus asellus, Porcellio scaber). Protoplasma 134, 53–59 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01276375
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01276375