Gross morphology and ultrastructure of the female reproductive system of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae)

Fabio Cleisto Alda Dossi,Fernando Luis Cônsoli

doi:10.1590/s1984-46702014000200007

Abstract

The morphological traits of the female reproductive system of Diaphorina citri were examined in detail. Diaphorina citri has telotrophic ovaries with ovarioles organized as a bouquet, displaying a rudimentary terminal filament and a syncytial tropharium. The vitellarium carries a single growing oocyte at each maturation cycle, which is connected with the tropharium by a nutritive cord. Morpho-functional changes occur during oocyte development, mainly during mid to late vitellogenesis. Morphological events such as the patency of the follicular cells and the intense traffic of vesicles through para- or intracellular processes, suggest a possible route for endosymbiont invasion of D. citri reproductive tissues. Similar events have been demonstrated to be involved in the process of ovariole invasion by endosymbionts in other sternorrhynchans that share reproductive traits with psyllids.

Highlights

Insect ovaries are differentiated as panoistic and meroistic (BÜNING 1994)
A typical insect ovariole is subdivided from apex to base into a fine terminal filament, tropharium, vitellarium and a pedicel that opens into the calyx of a lateral oviduct (BÜNING 1994)
In order to increase the overall knowledge on the reproductive system of sternorrhynchans, we characterized the morphology and ultrastructure of the female reproductive apparatus of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, 1908 during oogenesis

Summary

Introduction

Insect ovaries are differentiated as panoistic and meroistic (BÜNING 1994). In the former all of the oogonia differentiate as oocytes, while in the latter part of the germline cells develop into trophocytes. Auchenorrhyncha may have from one to 15 ovarioles per ovary, whereas members of Heteroptera commonly have seven ovarioles per ovary (BÜNING 1994, LALITHA et al 1997, HODIN 2009). Plasticity in the number of ovarioles has been documented for aphids and scale insects in Sternorrhyncha, and the ovary of psyllids can contain up to 100 ovarioles (BÜNING 1994, HODIN 2009). The structure of the reproductive apparatus and the process of oogenesis in Heteroptera (Hemiptera) have been extensively studied (LALITHA et al 1997, CAPERUCCI & CAMARGO-MATHIAS 2006), but information for the remaining suborders is scarce (BUNING 1985, SZKLARZEWICZ et al 2008, 2013). In order to increase the overall knowledge on the reproductive system of sternorrhynchans, we characterized the morphology and ultrastructure of the female reproductive apparatus of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, 1908 during oogenesis

Methods

Results

Conclusion