Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T13:29:22.686Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Egg production in Brugia pahangi(Nematoda: Filarioidea)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

C. J. Delves
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA
H. H. Rees
Affiliation:
Department of Biochemistry, University of Liverpool
R. E. Howells*
Affiliation:
Department of Parasitology, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA
*
Reprint requests to Professor R. E. Howells.

Summary

Oogenesis in Brugia pahangi has been studied by means of the aceto-orcein chromosomal squash technique and light-microscope autoradiography. The use of colchicine has demonstrated a 2–3 mm terminal germinative zone within the ovary, in which continuous and rapid mitotic division of germ cells occurs. In 80% of the gonads, oocytes within a 1–2 mm length of the ovary proximal to the germinative zone were at the prophase of meiosis I. Primary oocytes with markedly less condensed chromatin, apparently interphase cells, were observed in the corresponding region of the ovary in the remaining 20% of material examined. A cyclical or phased development of primary oocytes is suggested. Autoradiographic studies, concerned with the incorporation of [5-3H]uridine into germ cells of B. pahangi in vitro, further suggest that the onset of meiotic prophase is associated with the initiation of high RNA synthetic activity. Following meiotic prophase, oocytes complete meiosis I before entering a period of growth during which the chromatin material is decondensed. Recondensation of chromosomes prior to meiosis II is only observed after fertilization within the seminal receptacle. On completion of meiosis II, with the extrusion of a polar body, the haploid chromosome complement of the female unites with that of the male, re-establishing the diploid number of the zygote (2n = 10).

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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

Awadzi, K., Schulz-Key, H., Howells, R. E., Haddock, D. R. W. & Gilles, H. M. (1982). The chemotherapy of onchocerciasis. VIII. Levamisole and its combination with the benzimidazoles. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 76, 459–73.Google Scholar
Bachvarova, R. (1975). Incorporation of tritiated adenosine in mouse ovum RNA. Developmental Biology 40, 52–8.Google Scholar
Brahmachary, R. L. (1973). Molecular embryology of invertebrates. Advances in Morphogenesis 10, 115–75.Google Scholar
Brenner, S. (1974). The genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans. Genetics 77, 7194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chaczatrian, L., Kawiak, L. & Przelecka, A. (1973). Rate of synthesis of nucleic acids and their precursors in developing ovaries of Galleria mellonela. Journal of Insect Physiology 19, 2393–402.Google Scholar
Chen, S. N. & Howells, R. E. (1981). The uptake in vitro of monosaccharide, disaccharide and nucleic acid precursors by adult Dirofilaria immitis. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 75, 329–34.Google Scholar
Chitwood, B. G. & Chitwood, M. B. (1950). Introduction to Nematology. Baltimore: University Park Press.Google Scholar
Delves, C. J., Howells, R. E. & Post, R. J. (1986). Gametogenesis and fertilization in Dirofilaria immitis (Nematoda: Filarioidea). Parasitology 92, 181–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harada, R., Maeda, T., Nakashima, A., Sadakata, Y., Ando, M., Yonamine, K., Otsuji, Y. & Sato, H. (1970). Electron microscopial studies on the mechanisms of oogenesis and fertilization In Dirofilaria immitis. In Recent Advances in Researches on Filariasis and Schistosomiasis in Japan (ed. Sasa, M.), pp. 99121. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press.Google Scholar
Howells, R. E. & Delves, C. J. (1985). A simple method for the identification of compounds which inhibit tubulin polymerisation in filarial worms. Annals of Tropical Medicine and Parasitology 79, 507–12.Google Scholar
Kimble, J. E. & White, J. G. (1981). On the control of germ cell development in Caenorhabditis elegans. Developmental Biology 49, 200–19.Google Scholar
Lee, C. C. (1975). Dirofilaria immitis: ultrastructural aspects of oocyte development and zygote formation. Experimental Parasitology 37, 449–68.Google Scholar
McLaren, D. J. (1973). Oogenesis and fertilization in Dipetalonema viteae (Nematoda: Filarioidea). Parasitology 66, 465–72.Google Scholar
Mossinger, J. (1984). Production of embryos of Litomosoides carinii in vivo and in vitro. Thesis Diploma, University of Tübingen.Google Scholar
Sakaguchi, Y., Tada, I., Ash, L. R. & Aoki, Y. (1983). Karyotypes of Brugia pahangi and B. malayi (Nematoda: Filarioidea). Journal of Parasitology 69, 1090–3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Starck, J. (1977). Radioautographic study of RNA synthesis in Caenorhabditis elegans (Bergerac Variety) oogenesis. Biologie Cellulaire 30, 181–2.Google Scholar
Starck, J., Gilbert, M. A., Brun, J. & Bosch, C. (1983). Ribosomal RNA synthesis and processing during oogenesis of the free-living nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Comparative and Biochemical Physiology 75B, 575–80.Google Scholar
Triantaphyllou, A. C. (1971). Cytogenetics, host parasite interactions and physiology. In Plant Parasitic Nematodes, Vol. 2 (ed. Zuckerman, B. M., Mai, W. F. and Rohde, R. A.), pp. 134. New York: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Van Gansen, P., Thomas, S. & Schram, A. (1976). Nucleolar activity and RNA metabolism in previtellogenic and vitellogenic oocytes of Xenopus laevis. Experimental Cell Research 98, 111–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed