Light and Electron Microscope Study of a New Species of Glugea (Microsporida, Nosematidae) in the 4‐Spined Stickleback Apeltes quadracus*

Abstract

SYNOPSIS. Cell hypertrophy tumors (xenomas) associated with Glugea weissenbergi n. sp. frequently occur under the peritoneum (parietal or visceral) of Apeltes quadracus (Mitchell) near Solomons Island, Maryland. The microsporidan is similar to the type species, G. anomala (Moniez, 1887) Gurley, 1893, but has larger spores. Its fine structure corresponds with the basic pattern revealed by other authors in various species of Nosematidae. A concept of spore morphogenesis, in which the polar filament primordium is 1/2 of the nuclear isthmus present during division of the sporont, is elaborated and its implications discussed. The membrane systems of the Glugea and host cell components appear to be continuous with one another, this being an indication that the membranes are all furnished by the host cell. Lacking mitochondria and (apparently) a Golgi apparatus, Glugea is, when considered apart from the membrane system which is common to it and the host cell, a very simple organism, consisting of very little besides the genome. The simplicity of the Glugea, its very high degree of structural and physiological integration with the host cell, and the transformative development of the host cell all suggest an analogy with certain viruses.

Microsporidia in Vertebrates: Host-Parasite Relations at the Organismal Level

“…They were thus subject to easy predation. Sprague and Vernick (1968) found Apel tes quadracus infected with a microsporidian which they named Glugea ~eiss enbergi. The xenomas ranged in size from 1.0 to 6.0 mm and usually were situ~ ated beneath the parietal or visceral peritoneum; rarely were they subdermal.…”

Immunohistochemistry, histopathology and ultrastructure of Gasterosteus aculeatus tissues infected with Glugea anomala

“…Thélohan erected the genus Glugea in 1891 after the species G. anomala (Moniez 1887) was discovered for the first time as a parasite of 3-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus (L.) (see Sprague & Vernick 1968). Of the available records on Glugea within the literature, most accounts focus on the taxonomy of the Microsporidia (Lom et al 1995, Lom & Pekkarinen 1999, Larsson 2000, Pomport-Castillon et al 2000.…”

Sur l’évolution des xénomes et le double rôle des polynucléaires neutrophiles dans la microsporidiose àGlugea stephani(Hagenmüller, 1899) chez le fletPlatichthys flesus(Linné, 1758)

“…Cette paroi est interprétée par Weidner (1976) comme un filtre sélectif retenant d'une part les substances toxiques ou anti géniques produites par le parasite et empêchant d'autre part le passage inverse de matériaux hôtes inappropriés. Certains auteurs pensent que cette entité est durable (Sprague et Vernick, 1968 ;Canning, 1977 ;Weissenberg, 1968). Ce n'est pas général car, chez certains Poissons, une fois le développement du parasite achevé, la paroi du xénome est attaquée et le parasite détruit.…”