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Journal of Experimental Biology 143,71-85 (1989)
Published by Company of Biologists 1989

SWELLING BEHAVIOUR OF THE CATCH CONNECTIVE TISSUE IN HOLOTHURIAN BODY WALL

JOHN P. EYLERS ¹ and ALAN R. GREENBERG ²

¹ Biology Department, Mercer University, Macon, GA, USA; Present address, to which requests for reprints should be directed: Department of Pharmacology, Box 3813, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA

Swelling tests in a series of isotonic and isoionic solutions of varying calcium-tosodium ratios were conducted on isolated dermal connective tissue of the holothurian Thyonella gemmata Verrill. The tissue swelled rapidly and attained a maximum volume increase of approximately 40 % when transferred from distilled water to NaCl solution; however, the volume did not change significantly in isotonic CaCl₂ solution. At Ca²⁺/Na⁺ ratios 0.04 the tissue swelled at its maximum rate. The rate decreased with increasing calcium concentration, until at Ca²⁺/Na⁺ 0.40 no detectable swelling occurred. Similar results were obtained for Pentacta pygmaea Goldfuss. When tissues previously swollen in NaCl were placed in CaC₂, the volume decreased significantly. Uniaxial tensile tests indicated that the elastic modulus of the tissue was much greater in Ca²⁺ solutions than in Na⁺ solutions. We hypothesize that dermal stiffness in holothurians is regulated by cation-sensitive crosslinks

Key words: calcium, sodium, catch connective tissue, holothurian body wall

Accepted on October 6, 1988

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