Schistosoma rodhaini: intramolluscan larval development, migration and replication processes of daughter sporocysts.
The larval development of Schistosoma rodhaini in Biomphalaria glabrata presents two features of interest. The first concerns the migration of daughter sporocysts: only a fraction of the daughter sporocysts produced by the mother sporocyst migrate directly towards the digestive gland of the snail and become cercariogenous; the others remain in the anterior region of the snail where the majority transforms into small sporocystogenous sporocysts. The second point concerns the replication processes: only direct replication of daughter sporocysts was observed in sporocysts in a prehepatic localization. The demographic processes involved in the development of S. rodhaini are compared with other species of Schistosoma and interpreted as an adaptive character for better exploitation of the snail host.
Théron
A
A
Centre de Biologie et d'Ecologie tropicale et méditerranéenne, Université, Perpignan, France.
Touassem
R
R
D000818:Animals; D001700:Biomphalaria / Q000469:parasitology*; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D012547:Schistosoma / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*