MORPHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF TRIBUTYLTIN (TBT) IN-VITRO ON THE GENITAL SYSTEM OF THE MESOGASTROPODA LITTORINA-LITTOREA (PROSOBRANCHIA)

This ultrastructural study investigates the pathological changes in th e penial, the sperm groove and the glandular cushion epithelium in mal e Littorina littorea (Mesogastropoda) related to TBT (tributyltin) con tamination. The results are compared with those on Ocinebrina aciculat a (Neogastropoda), which shows a wide range of cell changes in the pen is epithelia of male and imposex affected females. The investigation o f the different penis epithelia of L. littorea revealed that the cells analysed show a low sensibility towards TBT. The cells display normal metabolism. Certain atypical structures like swelling microvilli and cristae which tend to lie parallel to the long axis in the mitochondri a, were detected as pathological effects.