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Comparative investigations of the morphology and chemical composition of the eggshells of Acanthocephala

II. Palaeacanthocephala

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Abstract

Eggshells of the palaeacanthocephalansAcanthocephalus anguillae, Pomphorhynchus laevis andPolymorphus minutus were investigated for their fine structure as well as their chemical composition. The acanthor larvae are surrounded by four eggshells (E1–E4) separated by interstices(G1–G4). Immature eggs do not exhibit the complete set of eggshells. The chemical composition of the outermost, thin eggshell (E1) remains unknown. E2 is supplied by outer filaments of different strength; it contains keratin, which was localized electron microscopically using anti-keratin. InP. laevis andP. minutus. E3 seems to contain glycoproteins, which could not be visualized in this eggshell ofA. anguillae. The innermost eggshell (E4) uniformly contains chitin. The electron-lucent interstices of the eggs ofP. laevis andP. minutus are rich in polysaccharides and/ or proteoglycans, whereas those ofA. anguillae contain low amounts of such substances.The differences observed in the abundance of carbohydrates are discussed with respect to the life cycles of the three acanthocephalans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Spezielle Zoologie und Parasitologie, Ruhr-Universität-Bochum, W-4630, Bochum, Germany

    H. Taraschewski

  2. Institut für Zoologie, Lehrstuhl für Morphologie und Zellbiologie, Universität Düsseldorf, W-4000, Düsseldorf, Germany

    W. Peters

Authors
  1. H. Taraschewski
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  2. W. Peters
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Taraschewski, H., Peters, W. Comparative investigations of the morphology and chemical composition of the eggshells of Acanthocephala. Parasitol Res 78, 376–381 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00931691

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00931691

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