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Growth and moulting in nematodes: moulting and development of the hatched larva of Rotylenchulus reniformis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2009

A. F. Bird
Affiliation:
CSIRO Institute of Biological Resources, Division of Horticultural Research, G.P.O. Box 350, Adelaide 5001, Australia

Summary

The morphology of the post-hatch moulting and developmental sequence of an amphimictic population of Rotylenchulus reniformis has been examined in living and fixed material. Under suitable conditions of temperature and in a moist environment the 2nd-stage larva (L2) undergoes a series of 3 moults and developmental changes which result in the formation of males and immature females. After hatching and prior to the start of the first of these moults (the second moult), there is a pre-moult period, usually of 3–5 days duration. The morphology of the entire moulting and developmental sequences, from L2 to just after the final moult, has been followed in single living specimens of a parasitic nematode using differential interference contrast optics, and sections cut through different stages have been observed under the transmission electron microscope. These moulting sequences (at 24 °C) take place at similar times in developing males and females. The second moult takes place on the second day after commencement of moulting, the third on the third or fourth days and the fourth and final moult on the sixth or seventh days, followed by further development over several days to give rise to the adult male and the immature female. The ultrastructure associated with some of the more obvious of these developmental changes is described and includes the morphology of the head region and cuticles of L2, L4, adult males and immature females, the oesophageal glands of the immature female and the copulatory spicules and spermatozoa of the male.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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