Structural features of the byssal apparatus and byssal groove of the foot in the mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis, Bivalvia, Mytilidae) from the Zhitkova bay, sea of Japan

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Abstract

Morphological structures of the byssal apparatus, byssal threads and byssal groove of the foot of the commercial Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from the Sea of Japan are studied. The byssal apparatus is shown to consist of a root, a stem and the byssal threads, these being of ellipsoid shape in cross-section. Each byssal thread consists of a corrugated, wide proximal part located immediately behind a cuff and is ⅓ of its length, and a relatively elastic, narrow distal part (⅔ of thread length) ending with an oval attachment disk at the distal end. In the composition of each byssal thread in its different parts are contained the byssal prepolymerized collagens – P, D, NG, which have the different in nature block copolymer structure. The surface of byssal threads is tuberous all along. On the surface of the attachment disk, two reinforcing cords are present. The edges of the attachment disks are semitransparent. The byssal groove of the foot is more primitive in structure than in the other species of mytilids studied. It is noteworthy that a distal fossa is absent at the distal end of the byssal groove of the foot. The above features of the morphological structure of the byssus and attachment disks in M. galloprovincialis are explained by structural differences of the secretory organ.

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About the authors

Е. Е. Vekhova

A.V. Zhirmunsky National Scientific Center of Marine Biology, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: evechova@gmail.com
Russian Federation, Vladivostok

K. V. Kiselev

Federal Scientific Center of East Asia Terrestrial Biodiversity, Far Eastern Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: evechova@gmail.com
Russian Federation, Vladivostok

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2. Fig. 1. Morphological features of the shell of the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from Zhitkov Bay, Sea of ​​Japan: A – outer surface of the shell, B – inner surface of the shell, C – enlarged fragment of the inner part of the posterior surface of the shell, G – enlarged porous nymph; bg – byssal gape, bsh – prismatic border along the inner edge of the shell, l – ligament, ipr – imprints of the posterior retractors, mpl – middle nacreous layer, dipm – punctate imprints of the pallial muscles, pl – mantle line, npn – numerous pores on the nymph.

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3. Fig. 2. Phylogenetic tree based on the results of nucleotide sequence analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene in the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from the Sea of ​​Japan. All samples (marked with an asterisk) collected in Zhitkov Bay, Sea of ​​Japan, belong to the same clade, have 99.6–100% identity, and belong to the same species – the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis).

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4. Fig. 3. External appearance of the byssus apparatus of the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) with a shell length of 70.0 mm: A – morphological structure of the byssus, B – enlarged attachment disk of the byssus thread; ad – attachment disks, bt – byssus threads, rb – byssus root, lr – root plates, sb – byssus stem, se – translucent edges of the attachment disks.

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5. Fig. 4. Scheme of the structure of the byssal apparatus and the attachment system in the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from the Sea of ​​Japan: aa – anterior adductor, pa – posterior adductor, abr – anterior byssal retractor, br – byssal retractor, pbr – posterior byssal retractors, f – foot, g – byssal groove of the foot, sb – byssal stem, cf – cuffs, bt – byssal threads, ad – attachment discs.

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6. Fig. 5. Morphological structure of the byssal thread in the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from Zhitkov Bay, Sea of ​​Japan (SEM): A – transition zone of the proximal part of the byssal thread to the distal part (z1), B – transition zone of the distal part of the byssal thread to the attachment disk (z2), C – external view of the attachment disk, G – proximal part of the byssal thread, top view, D – distal part of the byssal thread, top view, E – enlarged fragment of the attachment disk, top view, G – proximal part of the byssal thread, side view, H – distal part of the byssal thread, side view, I – lower surface of the attachment disk, K – corrugated border of the proximal part of the byssal thread, L – enlarged fragment of the distal part of the byssal thread, M – enlarged fragment of the lower surface attachment disc; z1 – transition zone of the proximal part of the byssal thread to the distal part, tf – transverse fold, tfr – transverse groove, os – opposite side of the byssal thread, rp – rounded tubercle, z2 – transition zone of the distal part of the byssal thread to the attachment disc, de – distal end of the byssal thread, dp – plate of the attachment disc, ac – anterior cord, pc – posterior cord, ce – corrugated border, lc – longitudinal cord, lf – longitudinal groove, ead – outer surface of the attachment disc, bad – lower surface of the attachment disc, fs – foam-like structure, p – pores of the lower surface of the attachment disc.

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7. Rice. 6. Morphological structure of the byssal groove of the foot in the Mediterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) from Zhitkov Bay, Sea of ​​Japan (SEM): A – ventral surface of the foot and byssal groove of the foot, general view from above, B – distal end of the foot, frontal view, C – distal end of the foot and byssal groove of the foot, view from above, G – byssal groove of the foot in the proximal part, view from above, D – byssal groove of the foot in the central part, view from above, E – surface of the wall of the byssal groove of the foot at the distal end, G – surface of the wall of the byssal groove of the foot at the proximal end, Z – byssal groove of the foot in the central part, enlargement, I – surface of the wall of the byssal groove at the distal end, enlargement, K – enlarged fragment of the wall of the byssal groove legs at the proximal end, L - an enlarged fragment of the wall of the byssal groove in the central part, M - the bottom of the byssal groove of the leg at the distal end, H - an enlarged fragment of the bottom of the byssal groove of the leg in the proximal part, O - an enlarged fragment of the bottom of the byssal groove of the leg in the central part, P - an enlarged fragment of the bottom of the byssal groove of the leg at the distal end; f – leg, vf – ventral surface of the leg, pef – proximal end of the leg, def – distal end of the leg, g – byssal groove of the leg, peg – proximal end of the byssal groove of the leg, deg – distal end of the byssal groove of the leg, w – wall of the byssal groove of the leg, fl – folds of the byssal groove of the leg, b – bottom of the byssal groove of the leg, c – cilia, d – openings of the gland ducts in the walls and bottom of the distal end of the byssal groove of the leg.

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