Effects of Starvation on Structure and Function in the Digestive Gland of the Mussel (Mytilus EdulisL.)

Abstract

During recent years attention has been focused on the morphology of the bivalve digestive gland (Sumner, 1966a, b; Owen, 1970; Pal, 1971,1972) but there is little information concerning its role in the storage of energy reserves. Reid (1969) has suggested that in the horse clam, Tresus capax, digestive gland lipid may serve as an energy store which is depleted when food is scarce. Sastry (1966) and Sastry and Blake (1971) have shown that material stored in the digestive tissue of Aequipecten irradians is transferred to the gonad during gametogenesis and Vassallo (1973) has confirmed the transfer of lipid in Chlamys hericia. The digestive gland of My tilus edulis may also have a storage function and may therefore be involved in the utilisation of reserves during starvation. The present paper deals with seasonal changes in the biochemical composition of the digestive gland of M. edulis, and with changes induced by starvation and temperature stress.