Cell Cycle Analysis in Developing Cercariae of Trichobilharzia ocellata (Trematoda: Schistosomatidae)

Abstract

<p>Experiments described in this study were carried out in order to (a) determine the parameters of the cell cycle and (b) examine the mode of reproduction during cercarial development of Trichobilharzia ocellata.</p> <p>The average duration of tC was estimated to be 15.2 hours in which tM lasts 1.6 hours; tG₁, 5.6 hours; tS, 4.8 hours; and tG₂, 3.2 hours. Beginning at the tail-bud stage, an increasing proportion of the cells cease to proliferate and become non-dividing cells; at this stage the first appearance of differentiating body structures was observed.</p> <p>Nuclei were found to vary in morphology during interphase; these variations and the examinations of cells in the division phase of the cell cycle have been used to support the suggestion that all cells reproduce asexually throughout all stages of cercarial development.</p>