title: Spermatological characteristics of Pleurogenidae (Digenea) inferred from the ultrastructural study of Pleurogenes claviger, Pleurogenoides medians and Prosotocus confusus.
abstract: The present work constitutes the first ultrastructural analysis of the spermatozoon in the Pleurogenidae, with the study of three species belonging to three of the 16 genera included in this family, namely Pleurogenes claviger, Pleurogenoides medians and Prosotocus confusus. The mature spermatozoa of these pleurogenids present two axonemes of the 9+"1" trepaxonematan pattern, a nucleus, two mitochondria, two bundles of parallel cortical microtubules, external ornamentation, spine-like bodies and granules of glycogen. The organization of these characters in the sperm cell is similar in the three species. Thus, the anterior spermatozoon extremity is filiform and a continuous and submembranous layer of parallel cortical microtubules surrounds the axonemes at their anterior end. The posterior spermatozoon extremity exhibits the second axoneme and corresponds to the Cryptogonimidean type of Quilichini et al. (2010). Slight differences were noted between the spermatozoon of P. confusus and those of the two remaining species in the location of mitochondria.
authors.affiliation: Laboratori de Parasitologia, Departament de Microbiologia i Parasitologia Sanitàries, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII, sn, 08028 Barcelona, Spain - Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Miquel
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vilavella
authors.forename: Zdzisław
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Swiderski
authors.forename: Vladimir V
authors.initials: VV
authors.lastname: Shimalov
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Torres
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission / Q000662:veterinary; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014200:Trematoda / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D014201:Trematode Infections / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*