Assessment of the Scales of Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.) by Image Analysis and Atomic Force Microscopy
Understanding the protective role of fish skin is critical to improving the development of aquaculture, since skin is the main surface that separates the animal from its always hazardous environment. Many techniques have been used for its study, but certain structural characteristics of fish skin st...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2018-01-01
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| Series: | Fishes |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/3/1/9 |
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| author | Francisco Casado Santiago Casado Diana Ceballos-Francisco María Ángeles Esteban |
| author_facet | Francisco Casado Santiago Casado Diana Ceballos-Francisco María Ángeles Esteban |
| author_sort | Francisco Casado |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Understanding the protective role of fish skin is critical to improving the development of aquaculture, since skin is the main surface that separates the animal from its always hazardous environment. Many techniques have been used for its study, but certain structural characteristics of fish skin still remain not clearly understood. That is the case with scales, which have always been attributed a mere protective role, but which are proving to have more functions than it was traditionally thought. To acquire a deeper knowledge, scales from six different regions of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) were studied and measured by image analysis. Results prove that scales from the base of the dorsal fin are larger than those in other parts of the fish body while scales from the peduncle are the smallest of the skin. Furthermore, a technique relatively new in this field, known as atomic force microscopy (AFM), was used to obtain representations of the ultrastructure of the scales and measure certain features such as the circuli and the lines in the basal layer. The data obtained allowed us to compare the height of circuli among the different scales, showing that they were higher in scales from the dorsum and the operculum. The present results introduce a nanostructural model of the scales of gilthead seabream that might serve as a useful guideline for future studies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T21:30:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d777cf63efa24fc8811c723222fbbb65 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2410-3888 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T21:30:06Z |
| publishDate | 2018-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fishes |
| spelling | doaj.art-d777cf63efa24fc8811c723222fbbb652022-12-22T02:29:12ZengMDPI AGFishes2410-38882018-01-01319010.3390/fishes3010009fishes3010009Assessment of the Scales of Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.) by Image Analysis and Atomic Force MicroscopyFrancisco Casado0Santiago Casado1Diana Ceballos-Francisco2María Ángeles Esteban3Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Biology, Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional “Campus Mare Nostrum”, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainIMDEA Nanoscience, Ciudad Universitaria de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, SpainDepartment of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Biology, Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional “Campus Mare Nostrum”, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainDepartment of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Biology, Campus Regional de Excelencia Internacional “Campus Mare Nostrum”, University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, SpainUnderstanding the protective role of fish skin is critical to improving the development of aquaculture, since skin is the main surface that separates the animal from its always hazardous environment. Many techniques have been used for its study, but certain structural characteristics of fish skin still remain not clearly understood. That is the case with scales, which have always been attributed a mere protective role, but which are proving to have more functions than it was traditionally thought. To acquire a deeper knowledge, scales from six different regions of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) were studied and measured by image analysis. Results prove that scales from the base of the dorsal fin are larger than those in other parts of the fish body while scales from the peduncle are the smallest of the skin. Furthermore, a technique relatively new in this field, known as atomic force microscopy (AFM), was used to obtain representations of the ultrastructure of the scales and measure certain features such as the circuli and the lines in the basal layer. The data obtained allowed us to compare the height of circuli among the different scales, showing that they were higher in scales from the dorsum and the operculum. The present results introduce a nanostructural model of the scales of gilthead seabream that might serve as a useful guideline for future studies.http://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/3/1/9scalesgilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.)image analysisatomic force microscopy (AFM) |
| spellingShingle | Francisco Casado Santiago Casado Diana Ceballos-Francisco María Ángeles Esteban Assessment of the Scales of Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.) by Image Analysis and Atomic Force Microscopy Fishes scales gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) image analysis atomic force microscopy (AFM) |
| title | Assessment of the Scales of Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.) by Image Analysis and Atomic Force Microscopy |
| title_full | Assessment of the Scales of Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.) by Image Analysis and Atomic Force Microscopy |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of the Scales of Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.) by Image Analysis and Atomic Force Microscopy |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of the Scales of Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.) by Image Analysis and Atomic Force Microscopy |
| title_short | Assessment of the Scales of Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.) by Image Analysis and Atomic Force Microscopy |
| title_sort | assessment of the scales of gilthead seabream sparus aurata l by image analysis and atomic force microscopy |
| topic | scales gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) image analysis atomic force microscopy (AFM) |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2410-3888/3/1/9 |
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