Ultrastructure of the spermatozoon of the bank vole tapeworm, Paranoplocephala omphalodes (Cestoda, Cyclophyllidea, Anoplocephalidae)

Abstract

The mature Paranoplocephala omphalodes spermatozoon is filiform, tapered at both ends and lacks mitochondria. Its anterior extremity exhibits an apical cone of electron-dense material measuring about 900 nm in length and 200 nm in width, and two crested-like bodies. The cortical microtubules follow a 25–35° helicoidal path along their whole length, except at the posterior extremity where they become parallel to the spermatozoon axis. They are arranged in a single or two fields which may cover each other partially. The axoneme, of the 9+“1” pattern of the Trepaxonemata, lacks a peri-axonemal sheath and does not reach the extremity of the spermatozoon. The nucleus is a compact and irregular cord coiled in a spiral around the axoneme. Moreover, we report for the first time a nucleus in the spermatozoon of a Cyclophyllidea species which reaches beyond the axonemal posterior extremity. The cytoplasm, depending on the level where the section is cut, is slightly electron dense or electron lucent and contains numerous small electron-dense granules in regions III–V. In the posterior spermatozoon extremity, granular material is replaced by a terminal and compact electron-dense material.