The Hemiptera order is currently divided into four suborders. Among them the Auchenorrhyncha suborder is considered to be paraphyletic. Morphology of insect spermatozoa has provided promising characteristics that can be used for phylogenetic inference. In this study, Aethalion reticulatum (Aethalionidae) spermatozoa were examined by light and electron microscopy. The head of the spermatozoa is composed of an acrosome and a nucleus. The nucleus is linear and filled with compact chromatin but has electron-lucid spaces. The centriole adjunct initiates parallel to the nucleus and terminates in the region anterior to the mitochondrial derivatives. Flagella consist of an axoneme, two mitochondrial derivatives and two accessory bodies and the axoneme has the typical 9+9+2 microtubule pattern. The mitochondrial derivatives are symmetric. The accessory bodies are long and are shaped like a half moon when viewed from a cross-section. The presence of accessory bodies differs from other species of Cicadomorpha previously studied. Spermatozoa morphology of other Auchenorrhyncha families can reveal synapomorphies and contribute to systematics of the suborder.

The sperm of Microstigmus arlei and Microstigmus nigrophthalmus are twisted in a spiral and consist of two regions: the head, formed by an acrosome and a nucleus, and the flagellum, formed by two asymmetric mitochondrial derivatives, a long centriolar adjunct, an axoneme (9 + 9 + 2) and two accessory bodies. The head shows a characteristic morphology. The acrosome is very long and is basically made up of a paracrystalline structure. In the central head region, the acrosome is inserted into the nucleus, which is observed coiling laterally around the paracrystalline structure. In the subsequent part of the spermatozoon the nucleus appears round in transverse sections, and over some length it is still penetrated by the acrosome until shortly distal to the flagellar insertion. At this point the nucleus forms an inverted cone-shaped projection. These morphological characteristics of acrosome and nucleus of the Microstigmus wasp have not been previously described in Apoidea and are useful for phylogenetic evaluation of this superfamily.

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This study represents the first characterization of male reproductive tracts and ultrastructural description of sperm of Cryptinae species. In Lymeon dieloceri and Pachysomoides sp., the male reproductive tract is formed by a pair of testis, two deferent ducts, two accessory glands and one ejaculatory duct. The spermatozoa are similar to those described for other Hymenoptera, with: (1) the acrosome formed by the acrosomal vesicle covering the perforatorium, which has its base inserted in a cavity located in the nucleus point; (2) a thin nucleus with electron-dense chromatin; (3) an electron-dense centriolar adjunct located between the nucleus and one of the two mitochondrial derivatives; (4) an axoneme with a 9 + 9 + 2 microtubule arrangement; (5) two long mitochondrial derivatives with peripheral cristae and; (6) two accessory bodies located between the two mitochondrial derivatives and the axoneme. These ichneumonids present structural characteristics similar to other parasitic wasps, such as presence of a single follicle per testis, layer of extracellular material enveloping the acrosome and accessory microtubules ending before others in final portion of the flagellum. However, male reproductive system and the spermatozoa presented morphological characteristics that allowed their differentiation, such as oval shapes accessory glands and the symmetric mitochondrial derivatives in L. dieloceri compared to the spherical accessory glands and asymmetrical derivatives observed in Pachysomoides sp. Taken together, data presented here demonstrates that diversity of morphological characteristic from the male reproductive tract and spermatozoa in Hymenoptera might provide a character system that can be used, in association with other systems, to resolve various uncertainties about the evolutionary relationships of this insect group.

Ruthenium complexes have been assessed as anti-tumor agents against cancer cells. In this project, new heteroleptic ruthenium(II) complexes with general formulae [Ru(L)(bipy)(dppb)](PF 6) (where L = N,N-disubstituted-N 0-acylthiourea, bipy = 2,2 0-bipyridine and dppb = 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane) were synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR and NMR (1 H and 31 P{ 1 H}) spectroscopies, molar conductivity measurements and single crystal X-ray diffractometry. The IR and NMR data suggest the coordination of the ligands to the Ru(II) metal center through the thiocarbonyl and carbonyl groups. The structures of the new complexes were further studied by X-ray crystallography, which confirmed the coordination of the ligands with the metal through the sulfur and oxygen atoms, leading to the formation of distorted octahedral complexes. The N,N-disubstituted-N 0-acylthioureas and their complexes were screened with respect to their in vitro cytotoxicity. All compounds exhibited considerable antiproliferative activity against MCF-7 (human breast tumor cells ATCC HTB-26), DU-145 (human prostate tumor cells ATCC HTB-26), and relatively low toxicity against fibroblast L929 cells (health cell line from mouse ATCC CCL-1). A preliminary study regarding the mechanism of action of these compounds by confocal microscopy shows alterations of the actin filaments leading to modifications in cytoskeletal supporting the cell death and that the cell nucleus is not main target of these complexes.