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Crystalloids in the excretory ducts of the accessory submandibular gland of the long‐winged bat, Miniopterus magnator
Author(s) -
Tandler Bernard,
Nagato Toshikazu,
Phillips Carleton J.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-0029(19970601)37:5/6<592::aid-jemt19>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - excretory system , biology , endoplasmic reticulum , submandibular gland , anatomy , ultrastructure , microbiology and biotechnology , endocrinology
Cytoplasmic crystalloids are abundant in the excretory ducts of the accessory submandibular gland of the long‐winged bat, Miniopterus magnator. The crystalloids, which always lack a membranous enclosure, may have an intricate silhouette. They consist of parallel linear densities with a 12.5 nm periodicity. These densities actually may be thin‐walled tubules. In some crystalloids, intersecting subcrystalloids produce a complex pattern of decussate densities. In a few rare instances, continuities were detected between a crystalloid and a smooth‐surfaced cisternal element. In other mammalian species, similar crystalloids connected to smooth endoplasmic reticulum play a role in steroid metabolism. We postulate that the ductular crystalloids in M. magnator might be involved in production of a factor that influences mating behavior. Microsc. Res. Tech. 37:592–597, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.