The neuromuscular system in continuously swimming cercariae from Belarus. II Echinostomata, Gymnocephala and Amphistomata

Abstract

The neuromuscular system in cercariae of Moliniella anceps, Echinostoma revolutum, Cathaemasia hians, Psilochasmus oxyurus, Sphaeridiotrema globulus, Paramphistomum cervi and Diplodiscus subclavatus was studied with immunocytochemical methods and confocal scanning laser microscopy. The patterns of F-actin in the musculature, 5-HT immunoreactive (IR), FMRFamide-IR neuronal elements and α-tubulin-IR sensory receptors were investigated. The general patterns of musculature, 5-HT- and FMRFamide-IR neuronal elements in the 12 species studied here and in paper I are similar to those observed in other cercariae and reflect the morphology of the groups. The musculature of the tail shows variations which are related to the different strategies of host finding. In the Echinostomatoidea and Paramphistomoidea, the striated musculature of the tail is well developed compared to that in the Xiphidiocercariae. Specialized muscle fibres were found in S. globulus, which are able to change the shape of the tail. Nine of the species studied have seven paired 5-HT-IR neurons in the body, and two species have eight. No correlation between the body size and the number of 5-HT-IR neurons was observed. However, the size of the neurons followed the body size. The number of 5-HT-IR neurons in the brain ganglia increased from the primitive to the advanced forms. The number of FMRFamide-IR transverse commissures in the body correlates with the size of the cercariae. Regardless of the differences in the second intermediate host, the distribution of α-tubulin-IR sensory receptors shows a high degree of conformity in all species except in P. cervi, which encysts on plants.