Holtmann, Wiebke Catharina (2008) Electrophysical studies of the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa: dissection of the epithelium and measurements of single-channel currents. (Diploma thesis), Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany, 82 pp.

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Abstract

This study has demonstrated that it is possible to dissect aboral epithelia from L. pertusa, to apply the patch-clamp technique on the aboral epithelia and to detect single-channel activities within this epithelium. In this study the aboral endoderm (which faces the coelenteron) was patched for the first time and single-channel activities were found. The observed ion channel could be characterised as a slow gating cation channel which is permeable for sodium and potassium. As this study represents only the first stages of the characterisation of this channel, making a statement about its role in ion fluxes across the membrane or its possible involvement in calcification would be speculative. In addition, the study provides a comprehensive morphology and histology as a prerequisite for further approaches to study cell physiology. And finally, the first micro-CT records of L. pertusa offer this technique for the monitoring of calcification throughout long-term experiments with high pC02. With further research on the channel it is possible to investigate its meaning for calcification and for L. pertusa.

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