Ultrastructural study of vitellogenesis of Aphallus tubarium (Rudolphi, 1819) Poche, 1926 (Digenea: Cryptogonimidae), an intestinal parasite of Dentex dentex (Pisces: Teleostei).

Abstract

Vitellogenesis of Aphallus tubarium, an intestinal parasite of Sparidae (Dentex dentex ), was studied by transmission electron microscopy. The ultrastructural features allowed us to distinguish 4 stages in the vitellogenesis process. In stage 1, vitellocytes have a cytoplasm mainly filled with ribosomes, but few mitochondria. In stage 2, there is an increase in amount of endoplasmic reticulum and few Golgi complexes. There is production of shell globules that coalesce into clusters in stage 3; some glycogen particles are observed via the Thiéry method. Finally, in stage 4, mature vitellocytes are filled with shell globule clusters and generally contain a large lipid droplet. Glycogen particles are grouped at the periphery of the cell.