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Haemocyanin synthesis and the branchial gland of Octopus

Abstract

MUCH is known about the biochemistry of haemocyanin1 but little about how or where it is made. It has recently been suggested2 on morphological grounds that in cephalopod molluscs it is synthesised in the paired branchial glands. Here we present the first experimental evidence to support this hypothesis and throw doubt on earlier theories that these organs are endocrine3–10.

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MESSENGER, J., MUZII, E., NARDI, G. et al. Haemocyanin synthesis and the branchial gland of Octopus. Nature 250, 154–155 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/250154a0

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