Oogenesis of Lithodes santolla: histological and histochemical characterization

Abstract

Although Lithodes santolla is a resource with high commercial importance that has aroused interest in controlled reproduction in captivity, currently, little knowledge is available about basic reproductive aspects of this species. This research study describes detailed oogenesis stages at the histological level in adult females of the southern king crab of the Magellan and Chilean Antarctic Region. Oogenesis was quantitatively analyzed from the proliferation of 10-24 μm oogonia and during oocyte growth. Five stages of ovary development were identified: multiplication (0), previtellogenesis (I), vitellogenesis (II), maturity (III) and spawning (IV). Furthermore, 11 oocyte substages were distinguished: oogonia, chromatin nucleolus, early perinucleolus, late perinucleolus, oil globule, early vitellin globule, late vitellin globule, postvitelogenic, germinal vesicle migration and germinal vesicle breakdown. Primary vitellogenesis occurred in oocytes 180-185 μm, containing acidophilic globules and surrounded by a layer of thick follicle cells (20-40 μm). Secondary vitellogenesis was evident in oocytes at 315-321 μm with numerous acidophilic granules in the cytoplasm and surrounded by thin follicle cells; then, cortical crypts appeared, indicating the prematuration stage and preparation for ovulation. This study allows establishing gonadic changes that occur during a reproductive cycle of female L. santolla and help to strengthen aquaculture initiatives and management in the Magellan and Chilean Antarctic Region.

Reproduction in the spider crab Maiopsis panamensis (Decapoda: Majoidea) in the Gulf of California

“…The early vitellogenic oocytes, which were present in Stage II and observed with light microscopy, have been described in TEM by Mollemberg et al (2017), who reported that in other Majoidea, no evidence of the chorion was observed, and oocytes were surrounded by follicular cells. Our observation that triglycerides increase and phospholipids decrease during vitellogenesis and post-vitellogenesis is consistent with patterns observed by Arcos-Ortega et al (2019) in The description of ovarian development in this study used quantitative and qualitative characteristics of histological and histochemical analyses, which were similar to methods used in other species of decapod crustaceans, such as the shrimp Penaeus japonicus (Yano, 1988), the lobster Panulirus japonicus (Minagawa & Sano, 1997), the anomuran crab Clibanarius clibanarius (Varadarajan & Subramoniam, 1980), and the brachyuran crab Travancoriana schirnerae (Smija & Sudha, 2015) to describe gonadal development.…”

“…Tukey's test (α = .05) showed significant differences among all substages of oocytes, except for oocytes in the Pvo and Gvb substages (Figure 6). vannamei (Corral-Rosales et al, 2018), and in L. santolla (Arcos-Ortega et al, 2019). In these studies, the lipids that were part of the yolk and membranes were preserved and coverage area of stained lipids was quantified through digital image analysis, following methods of Rodríguez-Jaramillo et al (2008).…”

“…So far, the only other known aspect of their reproductive biology is the average number of eggs produced by a single female (676,000), which suggests that individuals may spawn multiple times in one reproductive cycle (Villalejo-Fuerte et al, 1998). In other spider crabs, cytological and biochemical changes associated with vitellogenesis have been reported (Arcos-Ortega et al, 2019;Minagawa et al, 1993;Peres-de Souza & Feitosa-Silva, 2009;Ravi et al, 2012). Cell ultrastructure, histology and histochemistry have been described during ovary development and yolk production in other spider crabs including Mithrax hispidus (HERBST 1790), M. tortugae (RATHBUN 1920), Mithraculus forceps (MILNE-EDWARDS 1875), and Omalacantha bicornuta (LATREILLE 1825); all the species have shown a similar pattern of ovarian development and vitellogenesis (Mollemberg et al, 2017).…”

Ontogenetic changes in energetic reserves, digestive enzymes, amino acid and energy content of Lithodes santolla (Anomura: Lithodidae): Baseline for culture

“…Lipids stored in the midgut gland are transferred to the ovary during the vitellogenesis [66]. The polar lipids (phospholipids) are mainly responsible for the increase of lipid concentration of the ovaries during primary vitellogenesis [67,68], while the triglycerides increase during secondary vitellogenesis [68]. The profile of fatty acids present in the maturing ovaries is a reflection of the fatty acid requirement of that tissue or the requirements for the developing embryos after fertilization [67].…”