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Reinvestigation of the sperm ultrastructure of Hypoderaeum conoideum (Digenea: Echinostomatidae)

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Abstract

Spermatological characteristics of the digenean Hypoderaeum conoideum (Echinostomatidae) collected from Anas platyrhynchos in the Lac d’Annecy (France) were reinvestigated using transmission electron microscopy. The previous study on this species only describes the presence of two axonemes of unequal lengths, a mitochondrion, a posterior nucleus, and the disposition of cortical microtubules. The present ultrastructural study reveals that the mature spermatozoon of H. conoideum is a filiform cell tapered at both extremities. The sperm cell exhibits the characteristics of a digenean spermatozoa type V, namely two axonemes of the 9 + '1' pattern of trepaxonematan Platyhelminthes, external ornamentation of the plasma membrane associated with cortical microtubules, and located in the anterior part of the proximal region of the sperm cell, lateral expansions, two bundles of parallel cortical microtubules, maximum number of cortical microtubules in the anterior part of the spermatozoon, and presence of two mitochondria. In addition, the sperm cell of H. conoideum shows spine-like bodies and a posterior extremity with only the nucleus. The ultrastructural characters of the spermatozoon of H. conoideum are compared with those of other digeneans belonging to the superfamily Echinostomatoidea.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the “Fédération des Chasseurs de Haute-Savoie,” the “Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage,” and the “Syndicat Intercommunal du Lac d’Annecy”, and especially Mr. Jean Jacques Pasquier for obtaining permissions and also for their help during the field work. The authors are grateful to the staff of the “Centres Científics i Tecnològics” of the University of Barcelona (CCTiUB) for their assistance in the preparation of samples. JM is a member of the 2017-SGR-1008 research group.

Funding

This work was partly supported by “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad” (Madrid, Spain; grant number BFU2016–75639-P).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Secció de Parasitologia, Departament de Biologia, Sanitat i Medi ambient, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII, sn, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Jordi Miquel

  2. Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Jordi Miquel

  3. Université Clermont Auvergne, INRA, VetAgro Sup, UMR EPIA Epidémiologie des maladies animales et zoonotiques, 63122, Saint-Genès-Champanelle, France

    Magalie René Martellet

  4. Área de Parasitología del Departamento de Agroquímica y Medioambiente, Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Alicante, Spain

    Lucrecia Acosta

  5. Departament de Farmàcia i Tecnologia Farmacèutica i Parasitologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, 46100 Burjassot, València, Spain

    Rafael Toledo

  6. Laboratoire de Parasitologie et Mycologie Médicale, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Claude Bernard-Lyon 1, 8 Av. Rockefeller, 69373, Lyon, Cedex 08, France

    Anne-Françoise Pétavy

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  1. Jordi Miquel
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  2. Magalie René Martellet
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  3. Lucrecia Acosta
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  4. Rafael Toledo
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  5. Anne-Françoise Pétavy
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Correspondence to Jordi Miquel.

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Miquel, J., Martellet, M.R., Acosta, L. et al. Reinvestigation of the sperm ultrastructure of Hypoderaeum conoideum (Digenea: Echinostomatidae). Parasitol Res 117, 3725–3732 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-6071-8

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