Damage and recovery of Ictalurus sp. barbel taste buds exposed to sublethal concentrations of an anionic detergent

The present work deals with the ability of catfish barbel taste buds to recovery from exposure to sublethal doses (3 ppm) of an anionic detergent and the recovery time required. The barbels were taken at different intervals of time starting from the moment the treated specimens were transferred to LAS-free water. Starting on the 6th day there is a gradual recovery of taste bud morphology. The TB recovery process appears to be complete at around three weeks which is in agreement with the rapid cell turnover within the TBs and is compatible with the fact that LAS treatment does not appear to have altered TB nerves and basal layer. The observation that over longer periods of time (more than 42 days) the number of TBs damaged tended to increase is in agreement with the observation that living in aquaria has harmful effects on the fish chemoreceptory system. Statistical analysis of the mean percentage of damage obtained from the various experimental groups is in agreement with the morpholog...