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Journal of Experimental Biology 56,501-507 (1972)
Published by Company of Biologists 1972

The free Amino acid Pool of the Haemocytes of Carcinus Maenas (L.)

P. D. EVANS ¹

¹ Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge; Bye-Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge

1. The presence of a large intracellular pool of free amino acids in the haemocytes of Carcinus maenas (L.) is described. It was found that 58 % of the total free amino acid concentration of a whole-blood sample was present in the cell fraction.

2. The blood-cell count for Carcinus was found to be around 33,000 cells/µl which corresponded to 1 % by volume of the whole-blood sample. Thus 58 % of the total free amino acid concentration of the blood sample is sequestered into 1 % of the total volume.

3. The pattern of the amino acid pool of the haemocytes is shown to differ from that of muscle and nervous tissue from Carcinus. In particular, the taurine molecule accounted for 50 % of the pool in the haemocytes.

4. Possible functions for the amino acids of the haemocyte pool are suggested and the results are discussed in relation to other studies on free amino acids in crustacean blood.