Ultrastructure of spermathecal epithelium of ctenolepisma longicaudata (insecta : thysanura)

The insect spermatheca: an overview.

Abstract: In the female insect, the spermatheca is an ectodermal organ responsible for receiving, maintaining, and releasing sperm to fertilize eggs. The number and morphology of spermathecae vary according to species. Within the spermathecal lumen, substances in the semen and secretions from the spermathecal gland nourish the sperm. Thus, the spermatheca provides an appropriate environment that ensures the long-term viability of sperm. Maintaining sperm viability for long periods within the spermatheca is crucial for insect reproductive success; however, the details of this process remain poorly understood. This review examines several aspects of and gaps in the current understanding of spermatheca biology, including morphology, function, reservoir filling, development, and biochemistry. Despite the importance of the spermatheca in insects, there is little information on the gland secretions and their role in the maintenance and protection of male gametes. Furthermore, in this review, we highlight the current information on spermathecal gland secretions and the likely roles they play in the maintenance and protection of sperm.

Comparison of spermatheca morphology between reproductive and non-reproductive females in social wasps.

Abstract: Social wasps show an obvious evolution of the differentiation in behavior and external size between reproductive and non-reproductive females, with no clear differences in the Stenogastrinae, via overlap in the Polistinae, to clear differences in the Vespinae. In this study, we examined the morphological appearance of the spermatheca in representative species of these three subfamilies. The general anatomical organization of the spermatheca comprises a reservoir, a duct and two spermathecal glands, and is in line with its common structure in other social Hymenoptera. All examined wasp species have a spermathecal reservoir with uniform wall thickness, which is similar to the situation in the bees, but differentiates them from the ants. Within the wasps, the shape of the reservoir, the shape of the spermathecal glands and their attachment site to the spermatheca differs among the Stenogastrinae, Polistinae and Vespinae. The reservoir wall is thick in the Polistinae and Vespinae, while in the Stenogastrinae, it varies from thin in Parischnogaster to thick in Eustenogaster, with an intermediate situation in Liostenogaster. In all examined species, we found no differences in the spermathecal development between reproductive and non-reproductive wasps.

Spermathecae morphology in Four Species of Eurydema Laporte, 1833 (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) from Turkey: A Scanning Electron Microscope Study

Abstract: The spermathecae of four species of Eurydema (E. fieberi Schummel 1837, E. oleraceum (Linnaeus 1758), E. ornatum (Linnaeus, 1758), and E. spectabilis Horvath, 1882) were compared using both light and scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. All the spermathecae which are examined species are contains spermathecal bulb (reservoir), a pumping region, distal and proximal flanges, proximal and distal spermathecal ducts, dilation of spermathecal duct and a genital chamber with two ring sclerites. Spermathecal bulb shape is changed from oval or oblong (E. fieberi) semi –oblong (E. oleraceum, E. ornatum) ,and semi-spherical (E. spectabilis). Distal and proximal flanges of four species of Eurydema have strongly sclerotized and median spermathecal dilations a resemble balloons and sclerotized rods are present. Generally, in all species proximal spermathecal duct is long with muscular surface.

Female reproductive tract

Abstract: An important consideration in the examination of the female reproductive tract is that its condition, as well as the animal’s behavior, is very dependent on the stage of reproductive function (estrous cycle, pregnancy, parturition, postpartum period). Also, considerable change may have been brought about by ovariohysterectomy

Morphology and Cytology of the Accessory Sex Glands in Invertebrates

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the morphology and cytology of the accessory sex glands in invertebrates. Gland cells secreting chemically different molecules have been grouped either vertically, each type of gland spatially sufficiently separated from the others and specialized to produce a specific secretion or horizontally, with different secretions being produced by different cells in the same glandular epithelium or by the same cells with or without temporal succession. The complexity of the secretory behavior is well illustrated by L. nuttalli in which the first pair of accessory sex glands of the male produces six different secretions, all of which are used in spermatophore formation. The chapter explains how the secretory apparatus of accessory sex gland cells is modified to produce their characteristic secretions. Gland cells that look alike morphologically may produce different secretions, for example, the ejaculatory duct epithelial cells of Musca secrete at least 12 proteins. A degree of plasticity in the activity of the secretory apparatus may be expected only in these multipotent cells. Accessory sex gland function being indispensable for successful reproduction in nearly all advanced animal groups, it is indeed surprising that correlative studies on the structure, biochemistry, and physiology of the accessory glandular elements are comparatively few.

Accessory sex glands

Abstract: Platyhelminthesa (S. Guraya & V. Parshad). Nemertina (M. Gontcharoff). Gnathostomulida (M. Mainitz). Rotifera (J. Gilbert). Gastrotricha (W. Hummon & M. Hummon). Nematoda (L. Fitzgerald & W. Foor). Acanthocephala (D. Crompton). Mollusca (N. Runham). Annelida (K. Adiyodi). Onychophora (H. Ruhberg & V. Storch). Arthropoda-Crustacea (K. Adiyodi & G. Anilkumar). Arthropoda-Insecta (C. Gillott). Arthropoda-Myriapoda (J. Demange). Pentastomida (J. Riley). Indexes.

The Internal Anatomy of the Silverfish Ctenolepisma campbelli and Lepisma saccharinum (Thysanura: Lepismatidae)

Abstract: The several organ systems of these two species are described, compared, and illustrated. Differences were found in the tracheation of the eye, the disposition of vestigial stylal tracheae, and the absence in L. saccharinum of the ventral tracheal commissure of the eighth abdominal segment. The digestive system follows a generalized plan, similar to that of Orthoptera. In C. campbelli , but not in L. saccharinum , the first five abdominal ganglia have migrated one segment forward, but each continues to innervate the segment from which it came, whether a tracheal connection with that segment is preserved or not; the different behavior of tracheae and nerves in relation to such migrated ganglia seems a result of the sequence of their formation in the embryo. In both species the dorsal vessel is pulsatile for its whole length, but little or no peristalsis was observed; instead, systoles occur alternately in an anterior and a posterior chamber which are separated by a thoracic valve. Ten pairs of ostia were observed with difficulty through the transparent integument of living C. campbelli; probably those of L. saccharinum are similar. Pericardial cells were less numerous in the former than in the latter species. Each ovary consists of five ovarioles, connected to a common duct near the base of the ovipositor; the spermatheca lies beneath the eighth abdominal ganglion and communicates with the oviduct, ovipositor, and genital pore above the eighth sternite. Males have three pairs of testes on each side of the body, each pair discharging through a common vas efferens into a vas deferens which leads to one of the two seminal vesicles; and from this a long tube, with accessory glands apparently built into it, runs to the base of the acdeagus. Apical cells, not previously known in Thysanura, were found present in the testes. Histological sections of the aedeagus and its base provide, for the first time, evidence for a paired origin of this organ in Apterygota.

The glandular units of the spermathecae of machilids (Microcoryphia): ultrastructure and modifications during moulting

Abstract: The spermathecae of 4 species of Microcoryphia (Lepismachilis targionii, Trigoniophthalmus alternatus, Machilis sp. and Machilinus rupestris) present characteristics related to the primitive phylogenetic position of these apterygote insects. They are paired organs situated in the 8th abdominal segment on each side of the rudimentary genital chamber. Each spermatheca includes 2 different tissues: (a) a simple epithelium surrounding 2 spermathecal capsules and communicating with the genital chamber by short ducts; (b) a complex glandular tissue composed of numerous functional units, each made up of several cell types — a large glandular cell with a subapical reservoir, 2 basal cells, a ductule cell and enveloping cells. One of the basal cells, called the ciliary cell, presents a dendrite-like process containing 2 apical centrioles in alignment. Several ductules of neighbouring units join together before opening in the genital chamber, independently of the ducts of the spermathecal capsules. The spermathecae undergo marked changes during moulting periods. Apolysis is followed by a partial dedifferentiation of the glandular cells, then the formation of new ductule cavities and the growth of a pseudocilium at the apex of the dendrite-like process of each ciliary cell. Afterwards, cuticular material is laid down around the pseudocilia, forming the intima of the new ductules, which results from the secretions of at least the ciliary and ductule cells. The pseudocilia degenerate before ecdysis. A comparison is made with the organogenesis of analogous organs described in different insect species.