Summary
Ultrastructural localization of potassium and calcium in the ommatidium of the house-cricketGryllus domeslicus L. was studied by X-ray microprobe analysis using samples prepared as thin sections (2 or 5 μm) of freeze-dried and embedded tissue. Real resolution was limited by the size of ice crystals (Fig. 2) and estimated as about 1 μm.
Average values for potassium, calcium, sodium and phosphorus in different cells of the compound eye are given in Table 1.
Striking non-uniformity in distribution of these elements over the cells and their compartments was found by probe scanning (Figs. 3, 4, 5). The highest potassium and calcium concentrations were measured in the pigmented zones of photoreceptors and pigment cells. The pigment granules are thought to be the ionic depots of the eye.
Potassium and sodium are fully accessible to water in sections of embedded tissue, whereas all the calcium and half of the phosphorus are not.
The functional significance of the non-uniformity discovered is briefly discussed.
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Burovina, I.V., Gribakin, F.G., Petrosyan, A.M. et al. Ultrastructural localization of potassium and calcium in an insect ommatidium as demonstrated by X-ray microanalysis. J. Comp. Physiol. 127, 245–253 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01350115
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01350115