Rhyncophorus palmarum L. (Linnaeus, 1758): A Morphological and Histological Study of the Female Reproductive System

Rhyncophorus palmarum (Coleoptera) is a pest of great economic importance because of the damage caused in the plants of the Palmae family. This study showed that the female reproductive system of this beetle is composed of two ovaries of the telotrophic meroistic type invariably containing two ovarioles per ovary. Each ovariole is home to about 50 oocytes at different stages of maturation. The proximal region of the ovary is rather peculiar because it houses inside it a large quantity of bacilliform structures immersed in a glycolipoprotein substance, which has never before been described in the literature. The function of these structures is still unknown. However, it is suggested that they can function as a method of neutralizing the resistance of the plant because these insects are responsible for the transmission of the red ring disease to the palm plants. Microsc. Res. Tech. 74: 853-862, 2011. (C) 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Female reproductive system of the sugarcane spittlebug Mahanarva fimbriolata (Auchenorrhyncha): Vitellogenesis dynamics and protein quantification

The present study aimed describing the ovaries of the sugarcane spittlebug Mahanarva fimbriolata which are meroistic telotrophic with nurse cells and oocytes located in the tropharium. SEM revealed paired ovaries located dorsolaterally around the intestine, and oocytes exhibiting shapes ranging from round (less developed) to elliptic (more developed), suggesting a simultaneous, although, asynchronous development. Based on histological data we classified the oocytes in stages from I to V. Stage I oocytes exhibit follicular epithelium with cubic and/or prismatic cells, fine cytoplasmic granules. Stage II oocytes present intercellular spaces in the follicular epithelium due to the incorporation of yolk elements from the hemolymph. Small granules are present in the periphery of oocytes while larger granules are observed in the center. Stage III oocytes are larger and intercellular spaces in the follicular epithelium are evident, as well as the interface between follicular epithelium and oocyte. Yolk granules of different sizes are present in the cytoplasm. During this stage, chorion deposition initiates. Stage IV oocytes exhibit squamous follicular cells and larger intercellular spaces when compared to those observed in the previous stage. The oocyte cytoplasm present granular and viscous yolk, the latter is the result of the breakdown of granules. Stage V oocytes exhibit a follicular epithelium almost completely degenerated, smaller quantities of granular yolk and large amounts of viscous yolk. Based on our findings we established the sequence of yolk deposition in M. fimbriolata oocyte as follows: proteins and lipids, which are first produced by endogenous processes in stages I and II oocytes. Exogenous incorporation begins in stage III. In stages I and II oocytes, lipids are also produced by follicular epithelial cells. The third element to be deposited is polysaccharides, mainly found as complexes. Therefore, the yolk present in the oocytes of this species consists of glycolipoproteins. Molecular weights of proteins present in M. fimbriolata oocytes ranged from 10 to 92 KDa, differently from vitellogenin, the most common protein present in insect oocytes, weighing approximately 180 KDa. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Cytotoxic effects of andiroba oil (Carapa guianensis) in reproductive system of Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille, 1806) (Acari: Ixodidae) semi-engorged females

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Detection of Toxoplasma gondii in the reproductive system of male goats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Female reproductive system of ant species of the subfamily ponerinae: Review and new data

Literature data about the female reproductive system of some species in the subfamily Ponerinae are presented. Our project objective to compile a report containing the largest possible number of data about the reproductive system in Ponerinae for a better understanding of the reproductive biology of these Insects, was completed.

Anatomy of the male reproductive system of Phrynops geoffroanus (Testudines: Chelidae).

The reproductive system of male Phrynops geoffroanus adults is macroscopically described and the variation in testicular biometry is evaluated. A pair of oval testes is connected by the efferent ductules to the epididymis, which continue as deferent ducts, which emerge in the penis. The volume of the gonads showed the highest averages during spring and summer months. GSI varied significantly throughout the year, with the highest averages observed in the months that correspond to the end of spring and the beginning of summer, when the reproduction of the species takes place, and the lowest averages were seen in winter, suggesting a cyclical testicular activity.

Regression of the lateral oviducts during the larval-adult transformation of the reproductive system of Melipona quadrifasciata and Frieseomelitta varia

Toward the end of the larval phase (pre-pupa), the reproductive systems of Melipona quadrifasciata and Frieseomelitta varia workers are anatomically similar. Scanning electron microscopy showed that during this developmental phase the right and left ovaries are fused and form a heart-shaped structure located above the midgut. Each ovary is connected to the genital chamber by a long and slender lateral oviduct. During pupal development, the lateral oviducts of workers from both species become extremely reduced due to a drastic process of cell death, as shown by transmission electron microscopy. During the lateral oviduct shortening, their simple columnar epithelial cells show some signs of apoptosis in addition to necrosis. Cell death was characterized by cytoplasmic vesiculation, peculiar accumulation of glycogen, and dilation of cytoplasmic organelles such as mitochondria and rough endoplasmic reticulum. The nuclei, at first irregularly contoured, became swollen, with chromatin flocculation and various areas of condensed chromatin next to the nuclear envelope. At the end of the pupal phase, deep recesses marked the nuclei. At emergence, worker and queen reproductive systems showed marked differences, although reduction in the lateral oviducts was an event occurring in both castes. However, in queens the ovarioles increased in length and the spermatheca was larger than that of workers. At the external anatomical level, the reproductive system of workers and queens could be distinguished in the white- and pink-eyed pupal phase. The metamorphic function of the death of lateral oviduct cells, with consequent oviduct shortening, is discussed in terms of the anatomical reorganization of the reproductive system and of the ventrolateral positioning of adult worker bee ovaries. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Development of the male reproductive system in Callinectes ornatus Ordway, 1863 (Brachyura: Portunidae)

This study describes the histology and histochemistry of the male reproductive system in Callinectes ornatus, comparing juvenile and adult developmental stages. We also analyzed changes in the gonadosomatic (GSI) and hepatosomatic (HSI) indices, and the weights of the testis and vas deferens during the development. The results showed that all stages, beginning with the juvenile (JUV), through developing (DEV) and mature (MAT) adult males of C. ornatus produce sperm and spermatophores. During development, testicular lobes showed the same characteristics of production and release of sperm into the seminiferous duct. The vas deferens showed little histological and histochemical change in the epithelium in juvenile and adult males. The differences consisted of the larger amount of secretion in MAT males compared to JUV and DEV ones. The chemical composition of the seminal fluid was similar, but MAT males produced a more homogeneous secretion. Morphological and physiological maturation are not synchronized in C. ornatus, since JUV males produced spermatophores similar to those in DEV and MAT males. However, these JUV are not yet able to reproduce, since they still have the abdomen attached to the cephalothoracic sternum. The increase of the GSI during development was significant for MAT males, and is related to the production of sufficient volume of seminal fluid to form the sperm plug in the female seminal receptacle. The HSI decreased from DEV to MAT adult stages, indicating that reserves from the hepatopancreas are used to develop the reproductive system after the pubertal molt.

Dynamics of cell and tissue genesis in the male reproductive system of ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) Amblyomma cajennese (Fabricius, 1787) and Amblyomma aureolatum (Pallas, 1772): a comparative analysis

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Phytoremediation Potential of Mana-Cubiu (Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal) for the Deleterious Effects of Methylmercury on the Reproductive System of Rats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Male reproductive system of the red brocade hermit crab Dardanus insignis (Diogenidae) and its relationship to other family members

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Functional morphology of the reproductive system and sperm transfer in Stenopus hispidus (Crustacea: Decapoda: Stenopodidea), and their relation to the mating system

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

IS CLEISTOSPERMY AND COENOSPERMY RELATED TO SPERM TRANSFER? A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM OF PACHYGRAPSUS TRANSVERSUS AND PACHYGRAPSUS GRACILIS (BRACHYURA: GRAPSIDAE)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effects of a Mixture of Pesticides on the Adult Female Reproductive System of Sprague-Dawley, Wistar, and Lewis Rats

The Brazilian federal government Agency for Health Surveillance detected pesticide residues in fresh food available for consumers all over the country. The current study investigated the effects of a mixture of some of those pesticides (dichlorvos, dicofol, dieldrin, endosulfan, and permethrin) on the reproductive system of Sprague-Dawley (SD), Wistar (WT), and Lewis (LEW) rats. Female rats from each strain were randomized into three experimental groups and were fed a control diet or diets added with pesticides mixture at their respective no-observed-effect level (NOEL)/no-observed-adverse-effect level (NOAEL) (low dose) (mg/kg/d): dichlorvos (0.23), dicofol (0.5), dieldrin (0.025), endosulfan (0.7), permethrin (5), or lowest-observed-effect level (LOEL)/lowest-effect level (LEL)/ lowest-observed-adverse-effect level (LOAEL) (toxically effective dose) (mg/kg/d): dichlorvos (2.3), dicofol (2.1), dieldrin (0.05), endosulfan (3.8), and permethrin (25) as reported in the literature. Euthanasia was performed between wk 10 and 12, during the estrous stage. Decreased body weights gain (SD and WT) and increased liver weights (SD, WT, and LEW) were observed in each strain fed the pesticides mixture at the higher levels. At that dose level, rat strains also varied in their responses regarding the estrous cycle, hormonal levels, and number of developing ovarian follicles. The studied mixture of pesticides was found to interfere with the female reproductive system when individual pesticides were mixed above a certain level, indicating a threshold exists for each of the strains studied.

Comparative study of the ovarian morphology in the order Polydesmida (Diplopoda) and description of unusual structures in the female reproductive system

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)