title: Ultrastructure of the female reproductive apparatus of the egg parasitoid Gryon pennsylvanicum (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera, Platygastridae).
abstract: The growing interest in Leptoglossus occidentalis, the conifer seed bug pest accidentally introduced into Europe in the 1990s, led us to investigate the female reproductive structures of the hymenopteran platygastrid Gryon pennsylvanicum, which is its candidate antagonist for biological control programmes. Our study revealed a genital apparatus with some characteristic features, such as an unusual length of the oviduct (divided into a long proximal and a short distal tract), the absence of accessory glands and the presence of a spermatheca provided with a small spermathecal gland. The ultrastructural investigation revealed that the shorter part of the common oviduct is involved in ion uptake whereas the longer part has two cell types with secretory function: the former with dense bodies and the latter with granular particles. The secretory contents of both are released into the oviduct lumen. The granular particles are formed in a complex of modified endoplasmic reticulum and appear as virus-like particles.
authors.affiliation: Consiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Centro di Ricerca per l'Agrobiologia e la Pedologia (CRA-ABP), via di Lanciola 12/a, Cascine del Riccio, 50125 Firenze, Italy. Electronic address: francesco.paoli@entecra.it.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paoli
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy. Electronic address: gottardo@unisi.it.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gottardo
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy. Electronic address: daniela.marchini@unisi.it.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Marchini
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, University of Siena, via Aldo Moro 2, 53100 Siena, Italy. Electronic address: romano.dallai@unisi.it.
authors.forename: Romano
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dallai
authors.affiliation: Consiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura, Centro di Ricerca per l'Agrobiologia e la Pedologia (CRA-ABP), via di Lanciola 12/a, Cascine del Riccio, 50125 Firenze, Italy. Electronic address: piofederico.roversi@entecra.it.
authors.forename: Pio Federico
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Roversi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004721:Endoplasmic Reticulum / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D005836:Genitalia, Female / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008853:Microscopy; D046529:Microscopy, Electron, Transmission; D010057:Oviducts / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014863:Wasps / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure*
keywords: Egg parasitoid; Insect female genital system; Insect oviduct secretory activity; Spermathecal gland; Virus-like particles