Author(s): Arath Raghavan Sudha Devi, Moorkoth Kunnath Smija, Navya Gopal and Sneha Dineshan

Abstract: The present investigation analyzed the effects of eyestalk ablation on mandibular organ activity in the freshwater crab Travancoriana schirnerae. The MOs are paired, pale yellow, coma-shaped glands located at the base of the posterior adductor muscle of the mandible, barely distinguishable from the adjacent tissues. The gland contained two distinct cell types: type I and type II. In unilaterally ablated crabs, the gland was hypertrophied with patches of compactly arranged type I cells. The moderately basophilic cytoplasm of type I and II cells exhibited high granularity indicating signs of activity. The MO of bilateral eyestalk ablated crabs displayed large, highly basophilic secretory vesicles. The control MO had a degenerated appearance, lacking distinct cell types and secretory vesicles. The secretory vesicles perceptible in MOs of bilaterally destalked females may represent the synthesis of methyl farnesoate resulted from destalkation which caused the removal of the source of mandibular organ inhibiting hormone.

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