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Fine Structure of Hepatozoon mocassini (Apicomplexa, Eucoccidiorida) Gamonts and Modifications of the Infected Erythrocyte Plasmalemma 1
Author(s) -
Nadler Steven A.,
Miller Joseph H.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
the journal of protozoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 0022-3921
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1985.tb03050.x
Subject(s) - conoid , apicomplexa , hepatozoon , rhoptry , biology , vacuole , ultrastructure , electron microscope , biophysics , bacterial outer membrane , anatomy , microbiology and biotechnology , cytoplasm , biochemistry , virology , optics , plasmodium falciparum , physics , babesia , malaria , immunology , escherichia coli , gene
Transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy were used to investigate the fine structure of Hepatozoon mocassini gamonts and modifications of the infected erythrocyte plasmalemma. Intraerythrocytic gamonts were contained within a parasitophorous vacuole. An electron‐lucid space observed between the gamont pellicle and the membrane of the vacuole corresponded to the unstained space described in light microscopy studies. Gamonts possessed a conoid, polar ring, subpellicular microtubules, four pairs of rhoptries, micronemes, ovoid granules, mitochondria with tubular cristae, and a pellicle composed of three individual unit membranes. The conoid had an anterior diameter of 320 nm, a posterior diameter of 360 nm, and a length of 150 nm. In contrast to a report on Hepatozoon aegypti , no micropore or “canopy‐like structure” was observed. The plasmalemma of infected erythrocytes exhibited two types of modifications: gross membrane deformations and knobs with an electron‐dense central mass. These knobs are structurally distinct from previously described membrane excrescences.