Morphometric analysis of the calcium-transporting sternal epithelial cells of the terrestrial isopods Ligia oceanica, Ligidium hypnorum, and Porcellio scaber during molt.

Isopods shed first the posterior and then the anterior half of the body. Before molt, most terrestrial species resorb CaCO3 from the posterior mineralized cuticle. The mineral is stored in anterior sternal deposits, which are used to calcify the new posterior cuticle after molt. For Porcellio scaber it is known that the anterior sternal epithelium has specific structural differentiations for epithelial transport. These differentiations include the plasma membrane surface areas, and the volume fraction of the mitochondria. We analyzed the ultrastructure of the sternal epithelium and used a morphometric approach to study the variations of these parameters between species living in different terrestrial environments. In Ligidium hypnorum, which lives in moist environments, the plasma membrane surface area and volume fraction of mitochondria are much larger than in the semiterrestrial Ligia oceanica. This is in accordance with the relatively larger CaCO3 deposits and shorter time intervals for their formation and resorption in L. hypnorum. For P. scaber, which is adapted to mesic habitats, most values are between those of L. oceanica and L. hypnorum. However, P. scaber has even larger CaCO3 deposits which are formed and degraded within similar time intervals as in L. hypnorum. This unexpected result is considered from the standpoint of more effective mechanisms being present for epithelial ion transport.