Axonemal structure and insect phylogeny

Dallai, Romano; Afzelius, Björn A.

doi:10.1080/11250009309355851

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…The spermatozoa of most insects have been described as elongated and filamentous structures [26,27] , as also observed in all ant species examined in the present study. Histochemical tests revealed that spermatozoa of these ants species are elongated and uniform structures consisted primarily of polysaccharides and proteins, as lipids were only observed in the membrane of spermatozoa of A. laevigata and A. s. sexdens.…”

Section: Histology and Histochemistrysupporting

confidence: 82%

Morpho-physiological Differences of the Spermatheca of Attini Ants (Hymenoptera: Myrmicinae)

Ortiz¹,

Camargo-Ma²

2006

American J. of Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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The insect's spermatheca store the spermatozoa from the time of copulation until the fertilization of the eggs and consists of a sac, usually associated to glands. The ant species Atta laevigata, Atta sexdens sexdens, Atta sexdens piriventris, Acromyrmex coronatus and Cyphomyrmex muelleri are considered pests, as they cause economics losses to several crops. The spermatheca of these species were examined by scanning electron microscopy, histological and histochemical techniques. Their morphology resembled that of a bilobular pouch partially jointed in the central portion. In A. coronatus and C. muelleri it is flatter in shape than those of other species. The external spermathecal gland, groups of secretory cells, was located at the joining point of the two spermathecal lobes of the reservoir. This was observed in A. laevigata, A. s. sexdens and A. coronatus, like a group of cells, while in C. muelleri, like filaments. An external associated gland was not observed in A. s. piriventris, instead secretory cells were arranged in a simple prismatic epithelium internally lining the spermathecal lumen. This epithelium was also observed in A. s. sexdens, although it was restricted to the joining point of the spermathecal lobes. The presence of an internal secretory epithelium in A. s. piriventris and A. s. sexdens suggests that their physiology for the maintenance of spermatozoa in viable conditions for egg fertilization might differ from A. laevigata, A. coronatus and C. muelleri, in which only an external spermathecal gland was observed.

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Section: Histology and Histochemistrysupporting

confidence: 82%

Morpho-physiological Differences of the Spermatheca of Attini Ants (Hymenoptera: Myrmicinae)

Ortiz¹,

Camargo-Ma²

2006

American J. of Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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“…In insect order Trichoptera the accessory tubules are unusually large and possibly are to be regarded as macrotubules rather than microtubules (Dallai et al, 1993). They are further described in the accompanying paper by Dallai & Afzelius (1993, this volume).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Accessory tubules in the dipteran order have 16 protofilaments in some members of the family Mycetophilidae, 15 protofilaments in members of families Bibionidae, Culicidae, Chironomidae and Dixidae, and 13 protofilaments in Tipulidae and in the examined cycloraphan and brachyceran species (Dallai et al, 1993).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The number and distribution of such spots is dependent on the particular insect order. Within order Mantodea there are nine spots in a curved line, within the more evolved dipteran families there are also many electron lucid spots although of another pattern (Dallai & Afzelius, 1990a, Dallai et al, 1993.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In his comprehensive monograph, Jamieson (1987) has shown that information of sperm ultrastructure may be (at least as) important in phylogenetic discussions as structural information based on somatic characters. Our studies of dipteran spermatozoa (Dallai et al, 1993) also give some examples on how sperm data are used to infer phylogenetic relationships.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The sperm tail axoneme studied at high magnification

Afzelius

Bellon

Dallai

et al. 1993

Bolletino di zoologia

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The axoneme of the insect sperm tail is usually described with the 9 + 9 + 2 formula which refers to 9 accessory tubules surrounding the classical 9 + 2 organelle. When studied with traditional methods the 9 + 9 + 2 pattern is seen as a more or less uniform entity. We describe here some techniques, which show that the axoneme actually is far from uniform and has a structure that in most cases is specific for the insect order. These techniques include fixation with a glutaraldehyde-tannic acid mixture and computer-aided image analysis. Several findings are reviewed here, for instance a nonequidistant distribution of the 13 protofilaments in the wall of axonemal A-tubules, the elliptical shape of the A-tubules and of the accessory tubules of the three related insect orders Psocoptera, Anoplura and Mallophaga, and the existence of singlet microtubules with the same characteristics as A-subtubules in insect order Thysanoptera.

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Electron microscopic observation of the sagittal structure ofDrosophilamature sperm

Yasuno

Yamamoto

2014

Microsc. Res. Tech.

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Observation of sperm development and determination of their morphological characteristics are very important to the understanding of phylogenetic relationships and the study of sperm function during fertilization. Although ultrastructural studies of sperm development in the testes of the fruit fly Drosophila have been performed, there are few reports describing electron microscopic morphology of mature sperm, that is, those released from the testes to the seminal vesicles. Here, we present the first report of the sagittal organization of Drosophila sperm head and neck regions by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The head and tail structures of a mature sperm, for example, the acrosome, nucleus, and flagellum, were easy to distinguish by the morphological characteristics of the sperm surface by SEM. The morphological relationships between the surface and internal structures of mature sperm were confirmed by observing longitudinal sections with TEM. Our approach overcame the technical difficulties involved in sample preparation for electron microscopic observation of the Drosophila mature sperm head, and therefore, this study serves as an important foundation for future genetic dissection of sperm ultrastructure and function in male sterile mutants.

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Axonemal structure and insect phylogeny

Cited by 9 publications

References 23 publications

Morpho-physiological Differences of the Spermatheca of Attini Ants (Hymenoptera: Myrmicinae)

Morpho-physiological Differences of the Spermatheca of Attini Ants (Hymenoptera: Myrmicinae)

The sperm tail axoneme studied at high magnification

Electron microscopic observation of the sagittal structure ofDrosophilamature sperm

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