Vanadium-containing blood cells (vanadocytes) show no fluorescence due to the tunichrome in the ascidian, Ascidia sydneiensis samea : Biochemistry

概要

論文の詳細を見る
Ascidians belonging to the family Ascidiidae are known to accumulate vanadium ions from seawater to levels in excess of one million times the level in seawater and to maintain the vanadium ions in a reduced forn]. A tunichrome which appears to be involved in the accumulation and reduction of vanadium ions produces an autonomous fluorescence upon excitation with blue-violet light. Among six different types of ascidian blood cell, the morula cell, which emits fluorescence brightly, has been thought to be the vanadium-containing blood cell (vanadocyie) and, consequently, it has bcen suggested that the intensity of fluorescence is indicative of the concentration of vanadium ions in the blood cell. In the present experiments, after ascidian blood cells were fractioned into the various subpopulations by means of Ficoll density gradient centrifugation, the level of vanadium in each subpopulation was determined to ascertain which type of blood cell is the true vanadocyte in Ascidia sydneiensis samea. The autonomous fluorescence from the vanadocyie was also monitored with a fluorescence microscope. Consequently, we found that the subpopulation of morula cells that fluoresced brightly did not contain vanadium, whereas the subpopulation of signet ring cells, which did not emit fluorescence, contained high levels of vanadium
社団法人日本動物学会の論文
1990-02-15