Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T15:51:27.605Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Spermatophore of the tsetse, Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood: an ultrastructural study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2011

Elizabeth D. Kokwaro  and
Thomas R. Odhiambo
Elizabeth D. Kokwaro
Affiliation:
The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, P.O. Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya
Thomas R. Odhiambo
Affiliation:
The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, P.O. Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya
Get access

Abstract

Sperm are transferred from male to female tsetse, as in most insect species, within a spermatophore. The spermatophore of the tsetse species, Glossina morsitans morsitans Westwood (Diptera: Glossinidae), is highly organized, and can be visualized as a sac deposited in the uterus of the female tsetse. The wall of the spermatophore comprises two layers, whose components are strikingly similar to those of the secretions made by the male accessory reproductive glands. Dense aggregates of material, matrix filaments, and clusters of granules predominate in both. An ultrastructural study of these components is reported in this paper.

Keywords

SpermatophoretsetseGlossina morsitans morsitansultrastructural studyaccessory reproductive glandsuterus
Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Tropical Insect Science , Volume 1 , Issue 2 , June 1981 , pp. 185 - 190
Copyright
Copyright © ICIPE 1981

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Davey, K. G. (1960) The evolution of spermatophores in insects. Proc. R. ent. Soc. Lond. (A). 30, 107–113.Google Scholar
Davey, K. G. (1965) Reproduction in the Insects. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Engelmann, F. (1970) The Physiology of Insect Reproduction. Pergamon Press, New York.Google Scholar
Gerber, A. H. (1970) Evolutiqn of the methods of spermatophore formation in pteryogotan insects. Can. Ent. 102, 358–362.Google Scholar
Leopold, R. A. (1976) The role of accessory glands in insect reproduction. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 21, 199–221.Google Scholar
Madzama, N. M. and Happ, G. M. (1974) The structure and evacuation of the spermatophore of Tenebrie molitor L. (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). Tissue Cell 6(1), 95–108.Google Scholar
Pollock, J. N. (1970) Sperm transfer by spermatophores in Glossina austeni Newstead. Nature, Lond. 225, 1063–1064.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pollock, J. N. (1974) Male accessory secretions, their use and replenishment in Glossina (Diptera: Glossinidae). Bull. ent. Res. 64, 533–539.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reynolds, E. S. (1963) The use of lead citrate at high pH as an electron-opaque stain in electron microscopy. J. Cell Biol. 17, 208–212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schaller, F. (1971) Indirect sperm transfer by soil arthropods. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 16, 407–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherd, J. G. (1973) Physiology of Glossina and Sarcophaga Spermatozoa. In First Annual Report, 1973, pp. 10–11. ICIPE, Nairobi.Google Scholar
Wigglesworth, V. B. (1965) The Principles of Insect Physiology. Methuen, London.Google Scholar