Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://www.arca.fiocruz.br/handle/icict/11556
Type
ArticleCopyright
Open access
Collections
- IOC - Artigos de Periódicos [12977]
Metadata
Show full item record21
CITATIONS
21
Total citations
6
Recent citations
2.2
Field Citation Ratio
0.72
Relative Citation Ratio
FINE STRUCTURE OF THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM AND REPRODUCTIVE BEHAVIOR OF LUTZOMYIA LONGIPALPIS SANDFLIES (DIPTERA: PSYCHODIDAE: PHLEBOTOMINAE)
Author
Affilliation
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Insetos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Universidade Federal Fluminense. Instituto de Biologia. Departamento de Biologia Celular e Molecular, Niterói, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Insetos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Insetos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Instituto Nacional de Ciència e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular – CNPq. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Insetos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Insetos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Instituto Nacional de Ciència e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular – CNPq. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Carlos Chagas. Curitiba, PR, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Insetos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Insetos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Instituto Nacional de Ciència e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular – CNPq. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Insetos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Oswaldo Cruz. Laboratório de Biologia Molecular de Insetos. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil / Instituto Nacional de Ciència e Tecnologia em Entomologia Molecular – CNPq. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Instituto Carlos Chagas. Curitiba, PR, Brasil.
Abstract
Background: The male reproductive system of insects can have several tissues responsible for the secretion of seminal fluid
proteins (SFPs), such as testes, accessory glands, seminal vesicles, ejaculatory duct and ejaculatory bulb. The SFPs are
transferred during mating and can induce several physiological and behavioral changes in females, such as increase in
oviposition and decrease in sexual receptivity after copulation. The phlebotomine Lutzomyia longipalpis is the main vector
of visceral leishmaniasis. Despite its medical importance, little is known about its reproductive biology. Here we present
morphological aspects of the male L. longipalpis reproductive system by light, scanning and transmission electron
microscopy, and compare the mating frequency of both virgin and previously mated females.
Results: The male L. longipalpis reproductive system is comprised by a pair of oval-shaped testes linked to a seminal vesicle
by vasa deferentia. It follows an ejaculatory duct with an ejaculatory pump (a large bulb enveloped by muscles and
associated to tracheas). The terminal endings of the vasa deferentia are inserted into the seminal vesicle by invaginations of
the seminal vesicle wall, which is composed by a single layer of gland cells, with well-developed endoplasmic reticulum
profiles and secretion granules. Our data suggest that the seminal vesicle acts both as a spermatozoa reservoir and as an
accessory gland. Mating experiments support this hypothesis, revealing a decrease in mating frequency after copulation
that indicates the effect of putative SFPs.
Conclusion: Ultrastructural features of the L. longipalpis male seminal vesicle indicated its possible role as an accessory
gland. Behavioral observations revealed a reduction in mating frequency of copulated females. Together with transcriptome
analyses from male sandfly reproductive organs identifying ESTs encoding orthologs of SFPs, these data indicate the
presence of putative L. longipalpis SFPs reducing sexual mating frequency of copulated females.
Share