Summary
Skin samples taken from the scaleless and well-vascularized area of the lower jaw were used in a modified Ussing chamber to test for electrogenic ion transport. In the absence of electrochemical gradients the skin developed a transepithelial potential (TEP) of 10–30 mV, serosa-positive, with a short-circuit current (SCC) of 13.7±3 or 20.8±7 μamp/cm2 for fish acclimated to 5% or 100% sea water, respectively. Iodoacetamide +2,4-dinitrophenol, ouabain, or acetazolamide rapidly inhibited the TEP and SCC when perfused on the serosal side, but had little effect when added to the mucosal side. Sodium-, potassium-, or chloride-free Ringer, on both sides, reversibly reduced the TEP and SCC to near zero. The results indicate active ion transport acrossGillichthys skin and suggest a functional chloride excreting pump in the skin of seawater-adapted fish.
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With financial assistance from the National Research Council of Canada through a scholarship to W.S. Marshall and a grant-in-aid of research to W.S. Hoar and from the National Science Foundation through a grant-in-aid (MBS-16345) to H.A. Bern
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Marshall, W.S. Transepithelial potential and short-circuit current across the isolated skin ofGillichthys mirabilis (Teleostei: Gobiidae), acclimated to 5% and 100% seawater. J Comp Physiol B 114, 157–165 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00688966
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00688966