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The midgut of Tomocerus minor lubbock (Insecta, Collembola): Ultrastructure, cytochemistry, ageing and renewal during a moulting cycle

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Summary

The midgut cells of Tomocerus minor (Insecta, Collembola) were examined with the electron microscope and cytochemically. The midgut epithelium consists of a series of cells characterised by numerous mineral concretions scattered throughout the cytoplasm. Mitochondria are abundant; microvilli are well developed at the apical surface of the cell. A zonula continua (continuous junction) characterises the apical contact region of these cells. Polysaccharides, glycoproteins and carbohydrate components have been demonstrated on the surface of microvilli. Peritrophic membranes surround the food bolus and preserve midgut cells from mechanical abrasion. Lysosomes are present during the alimentary period and show strong acid phosphatase activity. During an intermoulting cycle, two stages can be observed: (1) the postexuvial feeding period during which cytoplasmic extrusions appear at the apical part of the cell: lysosomes increase in number and autophagic vacuoles appear. (2) The preexuvial fasting period; a new epithelium grows beneath the old one and pushes it into the lumen. Degeneration processes can be observed in the old epithelium. This excretory reactivity of the midgut epithelium has been compared to the cycle of the cuticle.

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  1. Laboratoire de Zoologie et d'Embryologie expérimentale, Université Louis Pasteur, 12, rue de l'Université, F-67000, Strasbourg, France

    Willy Humbert

  2. Laboratoire de Physiologie comparée des Régulations, CNRS, Strasbourg-Cronenbourg, France

    Willy Humbert

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Humbert, W. The midgut of Tomocerus minor lubbock (Insecta, Collembola): Ultrastructure, cytochemistry, ageing and renewal during a moulting cycle. Cell Tissue Res. 196, 39–57 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00236347

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