Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T20:54:05.277Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Observations on the early relationship between Moniliformis dubius (Acanthocephala) and the haemocytes of the intermediate host, Periplaneta americana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

Susan Rotheram
Affiliation:
The Molteno Institute, University of Cambridge
D. W. T. Crompton
Affiliation:
The Molteno Institute, University of Cambridge

Extract

An electron microscope study has been made of some of the events which occur during the beginning of the relationship between Moniliformis dubius and its intermediate host, Periplaneta americana. The acanthor penetrates through the intestinal wall and is encapsulated by host haemocytes. This encapsulation is typical of the haemocytic reaction of insects to foreign bodies. A proliferation of the acanthor's surface membrane then takes place and forms a coat of microvilli. The formation of this coat by the parasite is accompanied by the dispersion or disintegration or both of the encapsulating haemocytes. The coat of microvilli constitutes a major component of the envelope surrounding early larval stages of M. dubius. There is no evidence for the presence of host connective tissue in the envelope.

We are grateful to Dr A. V. Grimstone, Department of Zoology, for use of the electron microscope, and to Mr David Barnard and Miss Valerie Furber for technical assistance. We thank Dr George Salt, F.R.S. for his criticism of the manuscript.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1972

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

Ashhurst, D. (1968). Insect connective tissue. Annual Review of Entomology 13, 4574.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butterworth, P. E. (1969). The development of the body wall of Polymorphus minutus (Acanthocephala) in the intermediate host Gammarus pulex. Parasitology 59, 373–88.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crompton, D. W. T. (1964). The envelope surrounding Polymorphus minutus (Goeze, 1782) (Acanthocephala) during its development in the intermediate host, Gammarus pulex. Parasitology 54, 721–35.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crompton, D. W. T. (1970). An Ecological Approach to Acanthocephalan Physiology. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Edmonds, S. J. (1966). Hatching of the eggs of Moniliformis dubius. Experimental Parasitology 19, 216–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mercer, E. H. & Nicholas, W. L. (1967). The ultrastructure of the capsule of the larval stages of Moniliformis dubius (Acanthocephala) in the cockroach, Periplaneta americana. Parasitology 57, 169–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, D. V. (1946). Studies on the life history and development of Moniliformis dubius Meyer, 1933. Journal of Parasitology 32, 257–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robinson, E. S. & Strickland, B. C. (1969). Cellular responses of Periplaneta americana to acanthocephalan larvae. Experimental Parasitology 26, 384–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salt, G. (1963). The defence reactions of insects to metazoan parasites. Parasitology 53, 527642.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Salt, G. (1970). The Cellular Defence Reactions of Insects. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, R. D. & Lumsden, R. D. (1970). The acanthor tegument of Moniliformis dubius. Journal of Parasitology 56, 727–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar