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Ultrastructural study reveals epicellular development and sporogony of Haemogregarina myoxocephali in marine leeches, highlighting distinct reproductive stages of parasitic apicomplexans.
The sexual and sporogonic development of Haemogregarina (sensu lato) myoxocephali, an apicomplexan blood parasite of longhorn sculpin, Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus, was studied by transmission electron microscopy. All stages of development were observed epicellularly within intestinal epithelial cells of the leech Malmiana scorpii. During microgametogenesis nuclear division was characterized by a transnuclear cytoplasmic channel containing the spindle microtubules. Four aflagellate microgametes were formed. During fertilization, a single microgamete nucleus was associated with the endoplasmic reticulum in the macrogamete, followed by fusion of the nuclear envelopes of the gametes. Sporogony involved peripheral budding of sporozoite anlagen and subsequent development to form approximately 32 sporozoites in mature oocysts.
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Siddall et al. (1992) studied this question.
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