Size, shape, and direction matters: Matching secondary genital structures in male and female mites using multiple microscopy techniques and 3D modeling.
| Autor: | Cómbita-Heredia O; Acarology Laboratory, Ecology Evolution and Organismal Biology EEOB, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America.; Centro de Investigación en Acarología, Bogotá, Colombia., Gulbronson CJ; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Postdoctoral Fellow, Floral and Nursery Plant Research Unit, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. National Arboretum, Beltsville, Maryland, United States of America., Ochoa R; Agricultural Research Service, Systematic Entomology Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland, United States of America., Quintero-Gutiérrez EJ; Instituto Colombiano Agropecuario (ICA), Manizales, Colombia., Bauchan G; Agricultural Research Service, Systematic Entomology Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland, United States of America.; Agricultural Research Service, Soybean Genomics and Enhancement Laboratory, Electron and Confocal Microscopy Unit, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland, United States of America., Klompen H; Acarology Laboratory, Ecology Evolution and Organismal Biology EEOB, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. |
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| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Zdroj: | PloS one [PLoS One] 2021 Aug 18; Vol. 16 (8), pp. e0254974. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Aug 18 (Print Publication: 2021). |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pone.0254974 |
| Abstrakt: | Studies of female genital structures have generally lagged behind comparable studies of male genitalia, in part because of an assumption of a lower level of variability, but also because internal genitalia are much more difficult to study. Using multiple microscopy techniques, including video stereomicroscopy, fluorescence microscopy, low-temperature scanning electron microscopy (LT-SEM), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) we examined whether the complex sperm transfer structures in males of Megalolaelaps colossus (Acari: Mesostigmata) are matched by similarly complex internal structures in the female. While both LT-SEM and CLSM are well suited for obtaining high-quality surface images, CLSM also proved to be a valuable technique for observing internal anatomical structures. The long and coiled sperm transfer organ on the chelicera of the males (spermatodactyl) largely matches an equally complex, but internal, spiral structure in the females in shape, size, and direction. This result strongly suggests some form of genital coevolution. A hypothesis of sexual conflict appears to provide the best fit for all available data (morphology and life history). Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist. |
| Databáze: | MEDLINE |
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