Pallisentis rexus from the Chiang Mai Basin, Thailand: ultrastructural studies on egg envelope development and the mechanism of egg expansion

2004 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Wongkham ◽  
P.J. Whitfield

AbstractPallisentis rexus Wongkham & Whitfield, 1999 (Eoacanthocephala: Quadrigyridae) infects the freshwater snakehead fish, Channa striata, in the Chiang Mai Basin, Thailand. All stages of egg development within the body cavity of the female parasite were observed, using transmission electron microscopy. Changes in mature eggs after contact with water were also investigated. The mature egg has five egg envelopes separated from each other by four gaps. The fertilization membrane, which is formed first, is pushed centrifugally by other, subsequently formed, envelopes and gaps, which produces a final total shell thickness of 8–36 μm around the acanthor. The disappearance of the outermost layer and the unpleating of an adjacent inner layer causes the expansion of eggs on contact with water. The volume of an expanded egg is approximately 27 times that of an unexpanded one, but the density of eggs is reduced from a value greater than water to one almost equal to water. This is believed to aid the dispersion of eggs.

Author(s):  
M. R. Bakst

In a manner analogous to the way in which the zona pellucida envelops the mammalian ovum, a single acellular investment, the perivitelline membrane (PM), uniformly covers the hen's ovum at the time of ovulation. It consists of a fiberous latticework 2-4μm in width with interstices occupied by a porous ground substance (Figs. 1,2). The PM overlying the blastodisc is preferentially hydrolyzed in vitro by cock sperm (1) or by partially purified cock sperm acrosin (2). With either agent the PM overlying the remainder of the ovum requires longer incubation times for hydrolysis.Transmission electron microscopy of blastodisc and non-blastodisc regions of ova removed from the body cavity immediately after ovulation and incubated with sperm in modified Krebs-Ringer solution for 10-15 min. clearly demonstrates this breakdown.


1966 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 765 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Dobson

Linear distribution of the third-stage larvae of O. columbianum along the alimentary tract, and ectopic distribution within the organs of the body cavity, were investigated in sheep which were given first, second, and third infestations with 5000 larvae. Two types of nodule were recognized: (1) small gritty lesions, which predominated in the small intestine; (2) caseous nodules, mostly found in the large intestines. Linear distribution of the larvae was characterized by two peaks in numbers along the small intestine, the first immediately posterior to the common bile duct and the second at the ileocaecal valve. The origin of these peaks is discussed in relation to the exsheathment and subsequent behaviour of third-stage larvae and the flow of ingesta along the gut. Three peaks in larvae numbers were recognized in the large intestine; these are discussed in relation to the movements of ingesta. After second and third infestations the numbers of caseous nodules increased and those of ectopic migrations decreased. Also a third peak in the numbers of larvae invading the wall of the small intestine occurred at the beginning of the ileum. This is discussed in relation to the immunity reactions of the host. Of O. columbianum larvae, 75% were found to exsheath in the rumen after 12 hr; pH alone had little effect on exsheathment, except at a value of 6.5, which is equivalent to the pH of the ruminal contents when 10% of the larvae exsheathed after 8 hr. The effects of fresh bile on larval activity was also studied. These results are discussed in relation to the linear distribution of the larvae. It is suggested that after larvae have exsheathed, they respond specifically to environmental change by penetrating the gut wall. When the larvae penetrate into the body cavity, environmental changes are absent and the resultant larval migrations are completely random. It is also suggested that the final area in which the adult worm will settle depends on the part of the gut in which the larvae exsheathed and the area of the gut wall which the activated larvae penetrated. The distribution of caseous nodules is discussed in relation to the host specificity of O. columbianum.


Author(s):  
A. Gonzalez Angulo ◽  
R. Berlioz ◽  
R. Aznar

Recent ultrastructural studies on endometrial tissues from women wearing copper, wire intrauterine devices have disclosed morphological evidence of impaired glycogen degradation and secretion resulting in interference with the viability of blastocysts. Reduced microapocrine secretion observed with the scanning electron microscope supports this (1). In addition, organelle modifications have been observed in the epithelial cells of these women. The changes are seen in biopsies taken in the proliferative phase of the cycle and consist of mitochondrial vacuolation and myelin figure formation. These modifications disappear in the secretory phase and therefore have been regarded as reversible (2).The aim of the present studies was to investigate surface epithelial changes as well as organelle modifications in relation to the site of contact with an IUD that releases greater amounts of copper. Endometrial tissue was obtained from the uterine cavity of four young women wearing TCu-380-A intrauterine contraceptive devices for 4-6 weeks.


Author(s):  
C.D. Fermin ◽  
M. Igarashi

Otoconia are microscopic geometric structures that cover the sensory epithelia of the utricle and saccule (gravitational receptors) of mammals, and the lagena macula of birds. The importance of otoconia for maintanance of the body balance is evidenced by the abnormal behavior of species with genetic defects of otolith. Although a few reports have dealt with otoconia formation, some basic questions remain unanswered. The chick embryo is desirable for studying otoconial formation because its inner ear structures are easily accessible, and its gestational period is short (21 days of incubation).The results described here are part of an intensive study intended to examine the morphogenesis of the otoconia in the chick embryo (Gallus- domesticus) inner ear. We used chick embryos from the 4th day of incubation until hatching, and examined the specimens with light (LM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The embryos were decapitated, and fixed by immersion with 3% cold glutaraldehyde. The ears and their parts were dissected out under the microscope; no decalcification was used. For LM, the ears were embedded in JB-4 plastic, cut serially at 5 micra and stained with 0.2% toluidine blue and 0.1% basic fuchsin in 25% alcohol.


Author(s):  
P. M. Lowrie ◽  
W. S. Tyler

The importance of examining stained 1 to 2μ plastic sections by light microscopy has long been recognized, both for increased definition of many histologic features and for selection of specimen samples to be used in ultrastructural studies. Selection of specimens with specific orien ation relative to anatomical structures becomes of critical importance in ultrastructural investigations of organs such as the lung. The uantity of blocks necessary to locate special areas of interest by random sampling is large, however, and the method is lacking in precision. Several methods have been described for selection of specific areas for electron microscopy using light microscopic evaluation of paraffin, epoxy-infiltrated, or epoxy-embedded large blocks from which thick sections were cut. Selected areas from these thick sections were subsequently removed and re-embedded or attached to blank precasted blocks and resectioned for transmission electron microscopy (TEM).


Author(s):  
Ellen Holm Nielsen

In secretory cells a dense and complex network of actin filaments is seen in the subplasmalemmal space attached to the cell membrane. During exocytosis this network is undergoing a rearrangement facilitating access of granules to plasma membrane in order that fusion of the membranes can take place. A filamentous network related to secretory granules has been reported, but its structural organization and composition have not been examined, although this network may be important for exocytosis.Samples of peritoneal mast cells were frozen at -70°C and thawed at 4°C in order to rupture the cells in such a gentle way that the granule membrane is still intact. Unruptured and ruptured cells were fixed in 2% paraformaldehyde and 0.075% glutaraldehyde, dehydrated in ethanol. For TEM (transmission electron microscopy) cells were embedded in Lowicryl K4M at -35°C and for SEM (scanning electron microscopy) they were placed on copper blocks, critical point dried and coated. For immunoelectron microscopy ultrathin sections were incubated with monoclonal anti-actin and colloidal gold labelled IgM. Ruptured cells were also placed on cover glasses, prefixed, and incubated with anti-actin and colloidal gold labelled IgM.


Author(s):  
P. Fraundorf ◽  
J. Tentschert

Since the discovery of their etchability in the early 1960‘s, nuclear particle tracks in insulators have had a diverse and exciting history of application to problems ranging from the selective filtration of cancer cells from blood to the detection of 244Pu in the early solar system. Their usefulness stems from the fact that they are comprised of a very thin (e.g. 20-40Å) damage core which etches more rapidly than does the bulk material. In fact, because in many insulators tracks are subject to radiolysis damage (beam annealing) in the transmission electron microscope, the body of knowledge concerning etched tracks far outweighs that associated with latent (unetched) tracks in the transmission electron microscope.With the development of scanned probe microscopies with lateral resolutions on the near atomic scale, a closer look at the structure of unetched nuclear particle tracks, particularly at their point of interface with solid surfaces, is now warranted and we think possible. The ion explosion spike model of track formation, described loosely, suggests that a burst of ionization along the path of a charged particle in an insulator creates an electrostatically unstable array of adjacent ions which eject one another by Coulomb repulsion from substitutional into interstitial sites. Regardless of the mechanism, the ejection process which acts to displace atoms along the track core seems likely to operate at track entry and exit surfaces, with the added feature of mass loss at those surfaces as well. In other words, we predict pits whose size is comparable to the track core width.


Author(s):  
H.J. Ryu ◽  
A.B. Shah ◽  
Y. Wang ◽  
W.-H. Chuang ◽  
T. Tong

Abstract When failure analysis is performed on a circuit composed of FinFETs, the degree of defect isolation, in some cases, requires isolation to the fin level inside the problematic FinFET for complete understanding of root cause. This work shows successful application of electron beam alteration of current flow combined with nanoprobing for precise isolation of a defect down to fin level. To understand the mechanism of the leakage, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) slice was made along the leaky drain contact (perpendicular to fin direction) by focused ion beam thinning and lift-out. TEM image shows contact and fin. Stacking fault was found in the body of the silicon fin highlighted by the technique described in this paper.


Author(s):  
Julian Bibermair ◽  
Andrew N. Ostrovsky ◽  
Andreas Wanninger ◽  
Thomas Schwaha

AbstractBryozoa is a phylum of aquatic, colonial suspension-feeders within the Lophotrochozoa. In the Phylactolaemata embryonic development occurs in an internal brood sac on the body wall accompanied by extraembryonic nutrition. Owing to previous contradictive descriptions, many aspects of their sexual reproduction require restudy. Consequently, this study analyses embryogenesis of the freshwater bryozoan Plumatella casmiana by serial sections, 3D reconstruction and transmission electron microscopy. Early embryos cleave and soon develop into blastulae with a small central cavity. The mesoderm forms by delamination starting from the distal side towards the proximal end. In later embryos two polypides form on the posterior side that ultimately will be covered by a ciliated mantle in the larva. Embryos increase in size during development and form temporary cell contacts to the embryo sac. Mesodermal cells of the embryo sac show signs of transcellular transport indicating that embryos are nourished by transferring nutrients from the maternal coelom towards the brood cavity. This study clarifies several details such as mesoderm formation and the onset of bud development. Embryos are connected to their respective embryo sacs by a variety of temporary cytoplasmic processes formed by both tissues during embryogenesis, including a ‘placental’ ring zone. Although ultrastructural data of these cell contacts are not entirely conclusive about their function, we suggest that embryos absorb nutrients via the entire surface. The close opposition of embryos to the embryo sac implies placentation as matrotrophic mode in phylactolaemate bryozoans, with embryo sacs acting as placental analogues.


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