Histochemical demonstration of carbonic anhydrase in gills and opercular epithelium of seawater- and freshwater-adapted killyfish (Fundulus heteroclitus)

Summary Gills and operculum of seawater- and freshwater-adapted killyfish (Fundulus heteroclitus) were stained histochemically for carbonic anhydrase (CA) . In the seawater-acclimatized specimens, CA was found predominantly in the chloride cells which were considerably larger than in the freshwater-adapted ones. Within these cells, the reaction products were concentrated in the apical parts of the cytoplasm. In contrast, chloride cells of freshwater-adapted fish were not, or only faintly, stained both in gills and opercular epithelium. Reaction products for CA were seen additionally in the cytoplasm of the outer respiratory cells lining the lamellae of gills both in seawater- and freshwater-adapted fish.