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Post-molt processes of cuticle formation and calcification in the Japanese mitten crab Eriocheir japonicus

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Abstract

This study examines the following in the Japanese mitten crab: (1) the structure of the exoskeleton with special reference to its calcification; (2) the progression of post-molt cuticle formation and calcification. In the crab, the structure and calcification state of the exoskeleton at the molt and during the inter-molt stage were similar to those of other crustaceans. During the inter-molt, the exoskeleton consisted of four cuticle layers; the outermost epicuticle, the exocuticle, the endocuticle and the innermost membrane layer. Intense calcification was observed in the exo- and endocuticle. At the molt, the synthesis of the epi- and exocuticle was already complete, and the addition of the endocuticle began after the molt. Calcification of the exocuticle initiated soon after the molt, but there was a delay between endocuticle matrix synthesis and calcification. Histology showed that the process of calcification was similar to that in other crustaceans. However, calcium concentrations within the exoskeleton continued to increase and never reached the levels of the inter-molt stage at the end of the experiment. This suggests that the Japanese mitten crab is relatively slow to calcify compared to other crustaceans.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partly supported by a Yamagata Prefecture Industry–Academia–Government Collaboration Grant, and a twenty-first century COE Program awarded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan. Thanks are due to Ms. M. Hasegawa, Ms. C. Nishida and Ms. E. Sasagawa for their technical assistance.

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Author notes

  1. Masaharu Iguchi

    Present address: Produce Technology Division, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Department, Yamagata Prefectural Government, Matsunami 2-8-1, Yamagata, 990-8570, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, 3-1-1 Minato-cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-8611, Japan

    Konomi Sakamoto

  2. Yamagata Prefecture Fisheries Experiment Station, 594 Kamo, Tsuruoka, Yamagata, 997-1204, Japan

    Wataru Honto

  3. Yamagata Prefecture Inland Water Fisheries Experiment Station, 1-4-12 Izumi-cho, Yonezawa, Yamagata, 992-0063, Japan

    Masaharu Iguchi

  4. Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences, Hokkaido University, 3-1-1 Minato-cho, Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-8611, Japan

    Nobuhiro Ogawa, Kazuhiro Ura & Yasuaki Takagi

Authors
  1. Konomi Sakamoto
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  2. Wataru Honto
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  3. Masaharu Iguchi
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  4. Nobuhiro Ogawa
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  5. Kazuhiro Ura
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  6. Yasuaki Takagi
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yasuaki Takagi.

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Sakamoto, K., Honto, W., Iguchi, M. et al. Post-molt processes of cuticle formation and calcification in the Japanese mitten crab Eriocheir japonicus . Fish Sci 75, 91–98 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-008-0003-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12562-008-0003-y

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