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Spermatological characters of Stephanostomum bicoronatum (Digenea, Acanthocolpidae), an intestinal parasite of the Brown meagre Sciaena umbra (Teleostei: Sciaenidae) off the Tunisian coast

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Abstract

The ultrastructural spermatozoon organisation of the acanthocolpid digenean Stephanostomum bicoronatum have been described by micrographs of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Live digeneans were isolated from the digestive tract of the Brown meagre Sciaena umbra (Teleostei: Sciaenidae), obtained from artisanal fishing off the coast of La Chebba (Tunisia Mediterranean Sea). The ultrastructural study reveals that the male gamete of S. bicoronatum is a filamentous cell tapered at both extremities, which present typical characteristics of digenean spermatozoa of the type III, namely two axonemes of the 9 + ‘1’ pattern of trepaxonematan Platyhelminthes, nucleus, one mitochondrion, external ornamentation of the plasma membrane associated with cortical microtubules and located in the posterior part of the anterior region of the sperm cell, two parallel bundles of cortical microtubules, and maximum number of cortical microtubules in the anterior part of the spermatozoon. In addition, the male gamete of S. bicoronatum shows spine-like bodies, a large amount of glycogen granules and a posterior extremity containing only the nucleus. The results are compared and discussed according to the existing data in other digeneans, particularly with those of the family Acanthocolpidae.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the staff of the ‘Centres Científics i Tecnològics de la Universitat de Barcelona (CCiTUB)’ for their assistance in the preparation of samples. JM is a member of the 2021-SGR-00359 research group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire Ecologie et Environnement, Faculté des Sciences de Gabès, Université de Gabès Zrig, 6072, Gabès, Tunisia

    Hichem Kacem

  2. Département des Sciences de la Vie, Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax, BP 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisia

    Hichem Kacem

  3. Secció de Parasitologia, Departament de Biologia, Sanitat i Medi Ambient, Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII, sn, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Jordi Miquel

  4. Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat (IRBio), Universitat de Barcelona, Av. Diagonal, 645, 08028, Barcelona, Spain

    Jordi Miquel

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JM prepared TEM samples, HK and JM conducted the TEM study, JM prepared figures, HK wrote original draft, HK and JM reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hichem Kacem.

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Kacem, H., Miquel, J. Spermatological characters of Stephanostomum bicoronatum (Digenea, Acanthocolpidae), an intestinal parasite of the Brown meagre Sciaena umbra (Teleostei: Sciaenidae) off the Tunisian coast. Zoomorphology (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00435-023-00640-5

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