Dicrocoelium hospes Looss, 1907 (Digenea, Dicrocoeliidae): spermiogenesis, mature spermatozoon and ultrastructural comparative study.

This work describes the first ultrastructural results on spermiogenesis and on the mature spermatozoon of Dicrocoelium hospes (Trematoda, Digenea) collected in Bos indicus from Senegal (Africa). Examination of this species was processed by TEM. Spermiogenesis follows the general pattern found in the digenean, but reveals a particularity consisting of the appearance of glycogen granules in the late spermatids within the testes. The mature spermatozoon possesses five distinct regions and presents all features found in Digenea gametes: two axonemes, mitochondria, nucleus and parallel cortical microtubules. However, several characters allow us to distinguish D. hospes from other digenetic trematodes within the Dicrocoeliidae family. In fact, we observed several structures that are absent in the other species of Dicrocoeliidae studied until now, such as: a cytoplasmic expansion, extramembranar ornamentation, spine-like bodies and two parallel mitochondria in the mature sperm. Moreover, additional particular characteristics were observed in this species in both extremities of the spermatozoon. This work produced new data on the ultrastructure of this trematode family which may be useful for phylogenetic purposes.