The homology of cortical microtubules in platyhelminth spermatozoa: A comparative immunocytochemical study of acetylated tubulin

Jean Lou Justine, Carlo Iomini, Olga I. Raikova, Isabelle Mollaret

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Spermatozoa of certain acoels, a group of primitive Platyhelminthes, and spermatozoa of the most derived Platyhelminthes, the Cercomeridea (parasitic Platyhelminthes), show a general morphological resemblance in that they are long filiform cells with two incorporated axonemes and longitudinal cortical microtubules. A possible way to test the homology of these cortical microtubules in the different groups is to analyze the presence/absence of post-translational modifications of tubulin. An indirect immunofluorescence study showed that the doublet microtubules of the sperm axonemes are labelled by an anti acetylated-alpha-tubulin antibody in all groups, irrespective of the axoneme pattern (9 + 0, 9 + 2 and non-trepaxonematan 9 + '1' in various acoels, and trepaxonematan 9 + '1' of the temnocephalid Troglocaridicola sp., the digenean Echinostoma caproni and the monopisthocotylean monogenean Pseudodactylogyrus sp.). Significant differences are found in the sperm cortical microtubules: they are acetylated in the acoel Actinoposthia beklemischevi, but not in the digenean E. caproni and the temnocephalid Troglocaridicola sp. These results suggest that the sperm cortical microtubules of the acoels are not homologous with the morphologically similar elements found in the higher Platyhelminthes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)235-241
Number of pages7
JournalActa Zoologica
Volume79
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1998
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • Cell Biology

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