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Ultrastructure of the buccal capsule in the adult female Anguillicoloides crassus (Nematoda: Anguillicolidae)

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Helminthologia

Summary

The fine structure of the buccal capsule of the adult female nematode Anguillicoloides crassus (Spirurina) was studied for the first time. Results are based on serial section (longitudinal and transverse) light and transmission electron microscopy. The buccal capsule of A. crassus is a cuticular-lined structure. It can be divided into three main parts: cheilostom, gymnostom and stegostom. The cheilostom is the anterior region of the buccal capsule with the cuticular lining continuous with the body wall cuticle and underlain by epidermal syncytia. The gymnostom is a cuticular region with portions of it very electron dense and underlain by arcade syncytia. A dense circumoral cylinder together with the circumpharyngeal ring represent the prominent characters of the gymnostom. The stegostom is formed by anterior pharyngeal cuticle underlain by muscular radial cells and epithelial marginal cells. The cephalic cuticle of A. crassus makes a direct contact with the pharyngeal cuticle at the base of the circumoral cylinder, within a circumpharyngeal ring containing projections of pharyngeal muscular and marginal cells. The circumoral cylinder, circumpharyngeal ring and pharynx are connected to the body epidermis by junctional complexes. The buccal capsule includes occasionally 3 projections of the pharynx evidently observed in serial cross sections. These ultrastructural characters may provide useful data for comparative, functional as well as evolutionary studies within the Chromadorea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Parasitology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, 370 05, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

    M. Bruňanská & F. Moravec

  2. Parasitological Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 040 01, Košice, Slovak Republic

    M. Bruňanská & Z. Vasilková

  3. Department of Biology, Laboratory of Aquatic Pathobiology, Åbo Akademi University, Artillergatan 6, BioCity, 20520, Åbo/Turku, Finland

    H. -P. Fagerholm

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  1. M. Bruňanská
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  2. H. -P. Fagerholm
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  3. F. Moravec
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  4. Z. Vasilková
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Correspondence to M. Bruňanská.

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Bruňanská, M., Fagerholm, H.P., Moravec, F. et al. Ultrastructure of the buccal capsule in the adult female Anguillicoloides crassus (Nematoda: Anguillicolidae). Helminthologia 47, 170–178 (2010). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11687-010-0026-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11687-010-0026-7

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