Characteristics of the tertiary egg membrane of cuttlefish Sepiella maindroni de Rochebrune

We separated tertiary egg membrane （TGM） from 2- and 25-day-old eggs of cuttlefish Sepiella maindroni de Rochebrune, and revealed its ultrastructure, physical （solubility, barrier property） and biochemical （histology, histochemistry, nutritional components, bacteriostasis） characteristics. The results show that TGM could not be dissolved with natural seawater, alcohol, ether or hydrochloric acid （HC1）, but it could be dissolved with 2-chloroethanol, diethylamine, and sodium hydroxide （NaOH）. The black TGM was more effective in blocking off mud particulates, microorganisms （Chlorella vulgaris, Vibrio alginolyticus） and lighter than the white TGM. The elasticity of black and white TGMs was 1.8 N and 1.5 N, respectively. There were some ink particulates and rod-shaped bacteria in the black TGM. The nutritional components were different between black and white TGMs： Lipid content was lower and protein content was higher in the black TGM. TGM could also inhibit the growth of Vibrio alginolyticus.