Rosette glands in the gills of the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio. I. Comparative morphology, cyclical activity, and innervation.

Two types of exocrine rosette glands (called type A and type B), located in the gill axes of the grass shrimp Palaemonetes pugio, are described. The type A glands are embedded within the longitudinal median septum of the gill axes, whereas the type B glands typically project into the efferent hemolymph channels of the gill axes. Although both glands have certain common characteristics (i.e., a variable number of radially arranged secretory cells, a central intercalary cell, and a canal cell that forms the cuticular ductule leading to the branchial surface), they differ in the following respects. The type B gland is innervated, but the type A gland is not; axonal processes, containing both granular (ca. 900-1300 Å) and agranular (ca. 450-640 Å) vesicles, occur at a juncture between adjacent secretory cells and the central cell of the type B gland. The secretory cells of type A and type B glands differ in their synthetic potential and membrane specializations. These differences are more pronounced in well-developed, mature glands, most frequently encountered in larger (24-28 mm, total length) grass shrimp, than in the underdeveloped, immature glands that are most abundant in smaller (14-18 mm, total length) grass shrimp. Thus, in mature glands, the secretory cells of the type A rosette glands are characterized by extensive RER, abundant Golgi, and numerous secretory granules, whereas the secretory cells of the type B gland are characterized by extensively infolded and interdigitated basal plasmalemmas and by the presence of numerous mitochondria. In general, both types of glands exhibit increased secretory activity soon after ecdysis. The central and canal cells in both glands seem to have a role in the modification of the secreted materials. The possible functions assigned to the type A gland and the type B gland include phenol-oxidase secretion and osmoregulation, respectively.