SOME EFFECTS OF DIET ON THE GASTRIC EPITHELIAL CELLS OF THE GRASSHOPPER, MELANOPLUS DIFFERENTIALIS THOMAS

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Abstract
Grasshoppers reared on a pure diet of oat leaves, which had been previously determined unsatisfactory for this species, showed differences from the controls in the cytology of the gastric caecal epithelium. On the oat diet the gross morphology of the caeca and the pattern of distribution of the histological elements were not affected. Epithelial cells were replaced almost twice as frequently. Secretory inclusions were restricted in number. The cells were altered in dimensions. The differences in dimensions between the actively secreting villi and the less active crypts, characteristic of well fed individuals, tended to be lessened. The cells from either area on the oat diet approximated the dimensions of the crypt cells on the satisfactory diet. These effects may be due to at least 3 factors: inanition, injury or toxicity from some dietary component, and lessened secretory activity, on the oat diet.