Active chloride transport in the in vitro opercular skin of a teleost (Fundulus heteroclitus), a gill‐like epithelium rich in chloride cells

Abstract

The opercular epithelium lining the inside of the gill chamber of the killifish, F. heteroclitus, contained Cl- cells, identical in fine structure to gill Cl- cells, at a density of 4 .times. 105 cells/cm2. This epithelium was isolated, mounted in a Lucite chamber and its ion transport properties studied with the short-circuit current technique. The short-circuit current and transepithelial potential difference were determined in both saltwater-adapted fish.