“Parthenogenesis” in Schistosoma mattheei

Abstract

Experimental studies in mice have shown that with single sex female infections of S. mattheei there is a slow maturation of the worms with evidence of incomplete parthenogenesis; at 9 weeks no eggs were produced but at 17 weeks there was an average of 500 eggs per mouse. These were all non viable. Under similar conditions S. mansoni females failed to produce eggs.When the females of S. mattheei were paired with males of S. mansoni, the females reached full maturity and produced large numbers of eggs typical of their own species-many of the eggs were non viable but some contained active miracidia.It is considered that this is an example of parthenogenesis and not hybridisation. Cross specific pairings of schistosomes must occur frequently in man particularly with S. haematobium, S. mansoni and S. mattheei and this phenomenon could be of considerable clinical, epidemiological and biological significance. Parthenogenesis in mixed infections probably accounts for the large number of non-viable S. haematobium eggs seen in rectal biopsies, and it may also be important in reducing the transmission potential of schistosomes to man since cross pairing must result in the “sterilisation” of a considerable proportion of the female worms in mixed infections. This phenomenon may also explain the observed reproductive isolation of schistosome species which simultaneously infect the same host.