Diversity of features of the female reproductive system and other morphological characters in leeches (<scp>C</scp>itellata, <scp>H</scp>irudinida) in phylogenetic conception

Bielecki, Aleksander; Świątek, Piotr; Cichocka, Joanna M.; Siddall, Mark E.; Urbisz, Anna Z.; Płachno, Bartosz J.

doi:10.1111/cla.12058

Cited by 20 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 64 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In this context, knowledge about characters connected with organization of female gonads and oogenesis may provide new and potentially useful traits that can be used in phylogenetic considerations of Clitellata. Such characters were recently used by Bielecki et al (2014) to analyze leech phylogeny, and they were found to reflect well the phylogenetic relationships of Hirudinida at the family level.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microorganization of ovaries and oogenesis of Haplotaxis sp. (Clitellata: Haplotaxidae)

Urbisz

Martin

Lagnika

et al. 2020

Journal of Morphology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ovaries of Haplotaxis sp. were studied in active and nonactive states, that is, in a sexually mature specimen and in specimens outside of the reproductive period. Two pairs of ovaries were found in segments XI and XII. Especially in the nonactive state, they were in close contact with copulatory glands. Each ovary was composed of germ cells interconnected with syncytial cysts, which were enveloped by a layer of somatic cells. Within cysts each germ cell had one ring canal connecting it to the common anuclear cytoplasmic mass called a cytophore. During oogenesis clustering germ cells differentiated into nurse cells and oocytes; thus, the oogenesis was recognized as meroistic. Vitellogenic oocytes were detached from the ovaries and continued yolk absorption within the body cavity. Because recent studies have shown the variety of ovaries and germ line cyst organization in clitellates and suggest their evolutionary conservatism at the family or subfamily level, the data presented here can be valid in understanding the phylogenetic relationships among Clitellata. In this context, ovaries found in Haplotaxis sp. resembled those of the "Tubifex" type. "Tubifex" ovaries are characteristic for numerous microdrile taxa (tubificines, limnodriloidines, propappids, lumbriculids, and leech-like branchiobdellids) and can be regarded as the primary character for these Clitellata in which germ-line cysts are formed during early oogenesis. As the family Haplotaxidae is currently considered to be paraphyletic and the species studied here belongs to Haplotaxidae sensu stricto, our results support the close relationship of Haplotaxidae sensu stricto to the clade consisting of Lumbriculidae, Branchiobdellida, and Hirudinida, in which lumbriculids are sister to the latter two.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microorganization of ovaries and oogenesis of Haplotaxis sp. (Clitellata: Haplotaxidae)

Urbisz

Martin

Lagnika

et al. 2020

Journal of Morphology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The organization of the female germ-line cysts in such taxa as clitellate annelids, nematodes and mites is more complicated; the center of the cyst is occupied by an anuclear cytoplasmic mass (cytoplasmic core, central core) of a different shape and size, which is called a cytophore in clitellate annelids, a gonad core or a rachis in nematodes and a medulla in mites, while the germ cells are located at the periphery of the cyst. Additionally, as a rule, each germ cell is connected to the cytoplasmic core via only one stable intercellular bridge [ 21 – 32 ]. The number of germ cells in cysts that have a central core is usually high (the lowest known number is 16 in the white worm, Enchytraeus albidus [ 33 ]) and usually varies between taxa and may even vary between different germ-cell clusters in the same ovary (e.g., there are from 24 to 44 cells in fish leeches, Piscicola [ 34 ]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, the gross morphology of the female germ-cell cysts in some clitellate annelids has been described in several taxa e.g., in leeches [ 26 , 28 ], and in oligochaetous clitellates [ 27 , 31 ]. These studies revealed that there is a great deal of variety in the cyst morphology in these animals (for more details see Discussion , [ 32 ] and references herein). One of the groups of Clitellata in which germ-line clusters have drawn special attention due to their complicated form is Tubificinae.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Ovary of Tubifex tubifex (Clitellata, Naididae, Tubificinae) Is Composed of One, Huge Germ-Line Cyst that Is Enriched with Cytoskeletal Components

2015

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Recent studies on the ovary organization and oogenesis in Tubificinae have revealed that their ovaries are small polarized structures that are composed of germ cells in subsequent stages of oogenesis that are associated with somatic cells. In syncytial cysts, as a rule, each germ cell is connected to the central cytoplasmic mass, the cytophore, via only one stable intercellular bridge (ring canal). In this paper we present detailed data about the composition of germ-line cysts in Tubifex tubifex with special emphasis on the occurrence and distribution of the cytoskeletal elements. Using fixed material and live cell imaging techniques, we found that the entire ovary of T. tubifex is composed of only one, huge multicellular germ-line cyst, which may contain up to 2,600 cells. Its architecture is broadly similar to the cysts that are found in other clitellate annelids, i.e. a common, anuclear cytoplasmic mass in the center of the cyst and germ cells that are connected to it via intercellular bridges. The cytophore in the T. tubifex cyst extends along the long axis of the ovary in the form of elongated and branched cytoplasmic strands. Rhodamine-coupled phalloidin staining revealed that the prominent strands of actin filaments occur inside the cytophore. Similar to the cytophore, F-actin strands are branched and they are especially well developed in the middle and outermost parts of the ovary. Microfilaments are also present in the ring canals that connect the germ cells with the cytophore in the narrow end of the ovary. Using TubulinTracker, we found that the microtubules form a prominent network of loosely and evenly distributed tubules inside the cytophore as well as in every germ cell. The well-developed cytoskeletal elements in T. tubifex ovary seem to ensure the integrity of such a huge germ-line cyst of complex (germ cells - ring canals - cytophore) organization. A comparison between the cysts that are described here and other well-known female germ-line cysts is also made.

show abstract

“…The same features of the apical cell have been found in E. octoculata and E. johanssoni (Świątek et al, ; Ben Ahmed et al, ). The apical cell was also found in all of the hirudinids and haemopids that have been studied to date (see Table ) and should be regarded as an apomorphy of arhynchobdellid leeches (Bielecki et al, ). It was suggested that the apical cell plays active role in maintaining germ and somatic stem cells (Ben Ahmed et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The sperm ultrastructure has been frequently used in phylogenetic analyses (e.g., Ferraguti and Erséus, ; Jamieson, ; Marotta et al, ; Marotta and Ferraguti, ). Similarly, some morphological (Brinkhurst, ; Brinkhurst and Gelder, ; Siddall and Burreson, ) and recently also the ultrastructural (Bielecki et al, , ; Cichocka et al, ) characters of the female reproductive system and oogenesis have also been used in the phylogenetic assessment of Clitellata. The organization of female gonads and some details about oogenesis have also successfully been used to shed more light on the phylogeny of the other animals such as, for example, arthropods (Štys and Biliński, ; Büning, ; Mayer and Tait, ; Kubrakiewicz et al, ; Tworzydło et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Barbronia weberi (Clitellata, Hirudinida, Salifidae) has ovary cords of the Erpobdella type

Urbisz

Lai

Świątek

2013

Journal of Morphology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The organization of the ovaries in representative of the Salifidae (Hirudinida, Erpobdelliformes) was studied at the ultrastructural level for the first time. Like in other leeches, the ovaries of Barbronia weberi are composed of an outer envelope (i.e., an ovisac made up of two coelomic epithelia, muscle cells, and connective tissue) and several internal units, which are broadly similar to the ovary cords found in representatives of the Erpobdellidae. There are usually 6-8 ovary cords that are twisted or cambered with a narrow apical part and a broader, irregularly shaped distal end in each ovisac of B. weberi. Each ovary cord is built from somatic and germ-line cells and the latter tend to form multicellular cysts that are equipped with a central cytoplasmic core (cytophore). There are two morphologically different subpopulations of germ-line cells: oocytes and more numerous nurse cells. Growing oocytes form protuberances on the ovary cord surface and eventually detach from the cord and float freely in the ovisac lumen, whereas the other components of germ-line cysts (i.e., nurse cells and cytophore) degenerate. It should be pointed out that there is a prominent gradient of germ-cell development along the long axis of the cord. The somatic cells form the ovary cord envelope (the so-called spongiosa cells) and also penetrate the spaces between germ-line cells. Both kinds of the somatic cells, that is, those forming the cord envelope and the somatic cells that are associated with oocytes (follicular cells) have a well-developed system of intercellular channels. Additionally, one prominent somatic cell, the apical cell, was found at the apical tip of each ovary cord. Because the aforementioned features of ovary cords found in B. weberi are very similar (with a few minor exceptions) to the ovary cords that have been described in Erpobdella octoculata and E. johanssoni, we propose the term "ovary cords of the Erpobdella type" for them. Our results support a close phylogenetic relationship between Salifidae and Erpobdellidae.

show abstract

Diversity of features of the female reproductive system and other morphological characters in leeches (Citellata, Hirudinida) in phylogenetic conception

Cited by 20 publications

References 64 publications

Microorganization of ovaries and oogenesis of Haplotaxis sp. (Clitellata: Haplotaxidae)

Microorganization of ovaries and oogenesis of Haplotaxis sp. (Clitellata: Haplotaxidae)

The Ovary of Tubifex tubifex (Clitellata, Naididae, Tubificinae) Is Composed of One, Huge Germ-Line Cyst that Is Enriched with Cytoskeletal Components

Barbronia weberi (Clitellata, Hirudinida, Salifidae) has ovary cords of the Erpobdella type

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About