Migration and ultrastructure of the acanthocephalan Echinorhynchus gadi Zoega in Müller, 1776 in intermediate host under experimental conditions

Abstract

Amphipods Eogammarus tiuschovi were experimentally infected by the acanthocephalan Echinorhynchus gadi (Acanthocephala: Echinorhynchidae). Within the first four days post-infection, acanthors of the acanthocephalan caused the cellular response of the host, which ended with their complete encapsulation on day 4 post-infection. The acanthors obtained through the experiment were examined ultrastructurally. Two syncytia (frontal and epidermal) and a central nuclear mass are found in the acanthor’s body. The frontal syncytium has 3–4 nuclei and contains secretory granules with homogeneous, electron-dense contents. Since the secretory granules occupy only the anterior one-third of this syncytium, it is suggested that the contents of these granules are involved in the acanthor’s migration through the gut wall of the amphipod. The central nuclear mass consists of an aggregation of fibrillar bodies and a few electron-light nuclei distributed on the periphery. Some of these nuclei, located near the central nuclear mass, are assumed to be a source of the acanthocephalan’s internal organs. The epidermal syncytium surrounds the frontal syncytium and the central nuclear mass. It is represented by a superficial cytoplasmic layer, but the bulk of the cytoplasm is concentrated in the posterior one-third of the acanthorʼs body. Syncytial nuclei are evenly distributed throughout the cytoplasm. The muscular system of the acanthors consists of 10 longitudinal muscle fibers located below the superficial cytoplasmic layer and two muscle retractors crossing the frontal syncytium.