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A Morphological and Ultrastructural Study of the Anterior Digestive Tract of Adult Nile Tilapia Oreochromis niloticus .

Antonio PalladinoElena De FeliceChiara AttanasioCarmela Maria Assunta BaroneAntonio CrastoLivia D'AngeloDaniela GiaquintoClaudia LambiasePaola ScoccoFrancesco SerrapicaLucianna Maruccio
Published in: Animals : an open access journal from MDPI (2023)
Among the most-used fish species in aquaculture is the Nile tilapia, due to its rapid growth rate and its adaptation to a wide range of farming conditions. A careful description of the morphology of the digestive tract, particularly the esophagus and stomach, allows a better understanding of the relationship between structure and function. Combining scanning and light microscopy we highlighted the presence of five different zones in the stomach (1: esophagus-gastric lumen passage; 2: descending glandular portion; 3: fundic portion; 4: ascending glandular portion; 5: gastric-pyloric transition portion). Histochemical investigation showed a secretion of carboxylates mucopolysaccharides along the esophagus and sulphated complex carbohydrates in the stomach. These results suggest that mucins play a protective role of the epithelial lining, which is essential for a correct digestive process. Finally, the characterization of the main cellular structures may be inspiring for more advanced studies aiming to decipher the role of specific molecules, such as neuropeptides, involved in the physiological digestive process.
Keyphrases
  • high resolution
  • electron microscopy
  • single molecule
  • optical coherence tomography
  • young adults
  • pulmonary arterial hypertension
  • mass spectrometry
  • single cell