Vas deferens and penis development in the imposex-exhibiting female rock shell, Thais clavigera.
The characteristics of the development of male genitalia (penis and vas deferens) in imposex-exhibiting female rock shells, Thais clavigera, were histologically examined using specimens from a wild population and tributyltin (TBT)-exposed females in the laboratory. A variety of vas deferens morphogenesis patterns were observed in wild female T. clavigera, and the characteristics were summarized. The immature vas deferens at an initial stage, however, was only observed beneath or behind the penis, and no vas deferens was observed close to the vaginal opening (i.e., vulva) of the capsule gland in TBT-exposed females, which was different from the characteristics of vas deferens formation observed in wild females. Taking into consideration both the observed results from wild female specimens and from TBT-exposed females in the laboratory, the vas deferens sequence (VDS) index for T. clavigera was proposed as VDS 1-6.
Center for Environmental Risk Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8506, Japan. thorigu@nies.go.jp
Toshihiro
T
Horiguchi
Yasuhiko
Y
Ohta
Hiroshi
H
Urushitani
Jeong-Hoon
JH
Lee
Jeong-Chae
JC
Park
Hyeon-Seo
HS
Cho
Hiroaki
H
Shiraishi
D000818:Animals; D012734:Disorders of Sex Development / Q000139:chemically induced*; D005260:Female; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D010413:Penis / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects; D014220:Trialkyltin Compounds / Q000633:toxicity*; D014649:Vas Deferens / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
D014220:Trialkyltin Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C011559:tributyltin