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Effects of exposure to overcrowding on rodlet cells of the teleost fish Dicentrarchus labrax (L.)

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Abstract

Farmed fish are usually exposed to routine procedures which have strong effects on stress responses. Rodlet cells may represent an useful biomarker for studies on the presence of stressors in aquaculture. This work focused on the localization of rodlet cells by light and electron microscopy in gills of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) subjected to different conditions of overcrowding. In general, a significant increase in number of rodlet cells has been observed in all animals subjected to overcrowding stress. In gills of control group rare rodlet cells were detected at the level of both primary and secondary lamellae, whereas in stressed group clusters of rodlet cells have been found in the epithelium of primary and secondary lamellae indicating that these cells are influenced by stocking density.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by a grant from the Italian Ministry of the University and Scientific Research and Technology. The authors wish to thank the fish farm ‘Biotopo Valle Bonello’ team (Veneto Agricoltura, Legnaro) for providing fish and Vincenzo Sidoti and Giovanni Caporale for valuable technical assistance. We are also grateful to Dr. Anthea Rowlerson for English revision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Scienze Sperimentali Veterinarie, Università di Padova, Viale dell’Università 16, Agripolis, Legnaro (PD), 35020, Italy

    Carlo Poltronieri, Daniela Bertotto, Elena Negrato, Claudia Simontacchi & Giuseppe Radaelli

  2. Dipartimento di Morfologia, Biochimica, Fisiologia e Produzione Animale, Sezione di Morfologia, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy

    Rosaria Laurà & Maria Cristina Guerrera

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  1. Carlo Poltronieri
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  2. Rosaria Laurà
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  3. Daniela Bertotto
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  4. Elena Negrato
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  5. Claudia Simontacchi
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  6. Maria Cristina Guerrera
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  7. Giuseppe Radaelli
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Correspondence to Giuseppe Radaelli.

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Poltronieri, C., Laurà, R., Bertotto, D. et al. Effects of exposure to overcrowding on rodlet cells of the teleost fish Dicentrarchus labrax (L.). Vet Res Commun 33, 619–629 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-009-9211-x

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