Spermatogenesis in the hermaphroditic Digenea (Trematoda)

Abstract

While some variation of detail may be found in different species of the hermaphroditic Digenea, the process of spermatogenesis conforms to a common plan throughout the group. There is divergence of opinion concerning the interpretation of the structure of the ripe spermatozoon.In the testis of a young animal, primary, secondary and tertiary spermatogonia are present. The tertiary spermatogonia divide to give a group of eight primary spermatocytes that undergo the first division of the meiotic phase to form sixteen secondary spermatocytes. As a result of the second division of the meiotic phase, the sixteen secondary spermatocytes give a group of thirty-two spermatids that through a complicated series of changes are transformed into spermatozoa. During spermateleosis much of the cytoplasm of the late spermatid is sloughed off.Recent research, including the application of the Feulgen technique, the examination of living material, and electron microscopy, supports the view that the ripe spermatozoon is composed of an elongate head, and a flagellum. The head, with the exception of its external sheaths, consists of nuclear material.The flagellum of the sperm of Fasciola hepatica is Feulgen-negative and is composed of a proximal and a distal region. Its proximal part is provided with two axial filaments, a middle fibril and an external sheath. The axial filaments and the middle fibril are continued into the distal region where the external sheath appears to be absent. The external sheath of the flagellum of the sperm of Haematoloechus ( = Ostiolum) medioplexus is said to be composed of thirty-six fibrils. Claims that the flagellum of some digeneans contains a centriole, a middle-piece, and mitochondria have not so far been substantiated by means of electron microscopy.