Distribution of copper and iron in some central organs of Sepia officinalis (Cephalopoda). A comparative study by flameless atomic absorption and electron microscopy

In juvenile and adult Sepia officinalis (L.) of the Bassin d'Arcachon, France, the copper and iron contents of blood, hepatopancreas, branchial gland, branchial heart, branchial heart appendages, heart ventricle, and pancreatic appendages were determined by flameless atomic absorption. Despite the significant differences between the absolute values of the copper and iron concentrations in the different organs, a certain parallelism can be demonstrated in the ability to concentrate the two metals. The hepatopancreas, as the most important storage organ, shows the highest concentrations of copper and iron, followed by the branchial heart system with distinctly lower values. The cytolysosome-like dense bodies in these tissues of s. officinalis and of Octopus vulgaris (Lam.) can be characterized as the cellular sites of storage by histochemistry and electron microscopy. The low copper content of the branchial gland does not disprove the conception of a hemocyanin synthesis in this organ; biochemical experiments indicate a subsequent incorporation of copper released by the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of the gland.This study was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.