Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T10:49:50.081Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The structure and development of the protozoon Histomonas meleagridis in the male reproductive tract of its intermediate host, Heterakis gallinarum (Nematoda)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

D. L. Lee
D. L. Lee
Affiliation:
Houghton Poultry Research Station, Houghton, Huntingdon
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

The ultrastructure and development of Histomonas meleagridis in the reproductive tract of male Heterakis gallinarum has been described. In the testis the protozoon is a relatively large amoeboid organism which lies between the epithelial cells of the testis and the spermatogonia, spermatocytes and spermatids. It is similar in appearance to the invasive stage which is found in the final host and like the invasive stage, it also feeds upon the host cells by phagocytosis. In the vas deferens the protozoon lies between the host cells, where it is much smaller than the stages in the testis but still amoeboid, and inside the cells of the vas deferens.Intracellular stages are much smaller than the other stages, are rounded in appearance and cause little or no damage to the host cell. They are similar to the stages found in oocytes of the female nematode. The possible role of the male nematode in the life cycle of the protozoon is discussed.

I wish to thank Mrs B. Fisher for technical assistance and Mr B. Carter for assistance with the photography.

Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 63 , Issue 3 , December 1971 , pp. 439 - 445
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baker, A. D. (1936). Studies of Heterakis gattinae (Gmelin, 1790) Freeborn, 1923, a nematode parasite of domestic fowls. Transactions of the Royal Canadian Institute 21, 51–86.Google Scholar
Gibbs, B. J. (1962). The occurrence of the protozoan parasite Histomonas meleagridis in the adults and eggs of the cecal worm Heterakis gcdlinae. The Journal of Protozoology 9, 288–93.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gbaybill, H. W. & Smith, T. (1920). Production of fatal blackhead in turkeys by feeding embryonated eggs of Heterakis papillosa. Journal of Experimental Medicine 21, 647–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, D. L. (1969). The structure and development of Histomonas meleagridis (Mastigam-oebidae: Protozoa) in the female reproductive tract of its intermediate host, Heterakis gallinarum (Nematoda). Parasitology 59, 877–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lee, D. L. (1971 a). The structure and development of the spermatozoon of Heterakis gallinarum (Nematoda). Journal of Zoology 164, 181–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, D. L. (1971 b). Helminths as vectors of micro-organisms. In Ecology and Physiology of Parasites: A Symposium. Ed. Fallis, A. M., pp. 104–22. University of Toronto Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, D. L., Long, P. L., Millard, B. J. & Bradley, J. (1969). The fine structure and method of feeding of the tissue parasitising stages of Histomonas meleagridis. Parasitology 59, 171–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niimi, D. (1937). Studies on blackhead. II. Mode of infection. Journal of the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science 16, 23–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schuster, F. L. (1968). Ultrastructure of Histomonas meleagridis (Smith) Tyzzer, a parasitic amebo-flagellate. The Journal of Parasitology 54, 725–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Springer, W. T., Johnson, J. & Reid, W. M. (1969). Transmission of histomoniasis with male Heterakis gallinarum (Nematoda). Parasitology 59, 401–5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed