Abstract
Mixed infections withSchistosoma japonicum andS. mansoni were carried out in mice.S. japonicum females paired withS. mansoni males developed normally and produced numerous viable eggs; very little sperm was found in the female genital tract. The eggs yielded many miracidia infective toOncomelania hupensis, the host ofS. japonicum. Cercariae arising from miracidia developed into male worms with an electrophoretic pattern of malate dehydrogenase (MDH) corresponding only to mae maternal speciesS. japonicum. S. mansoni females paired withS. japonicum produced few viable eggs; sperm was found in the female genital tract. Miracidia hatched from mime of these eggs were infective toBiomphalaria glabrata, the host ofS. mansoni. Cercariae arising from miracidia developed into female worms with an electrophoretic pattern of MDH typical of the maternal speciesS. mansoni. It was concluded thatS. japonicum females paired withS. mansoni males andS. mansoni females paired withS. japonicum males reproduce parthenogenetically. Parthenogenesis in schistosomes is discussed.
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Imbert-Establet, D., Xia, M. & Jourdane, J. Parthenogenesis in the genusSchistosoma: Electrophoretic evidence for this reproduction system inS. japonicum andS. mansoni . Parasitol Res 80, 186–191 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00932672
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00932672