Ultrastructural study of protective envelopes in Dioecocestus asper (Cestoda: Dioecocestidae) megalocercus

The megalocercus of Dioecocestus asper (Mehlis 1831) from the haemocoele of dragonfly larvae possesses two envelopes: outer (exocyst) and inner (endocyst) ones. The exocyst contains the large endocyst and larval strobila with scolex attached to the latter. Outer and inner surfaces of these envelopes are organized as the tegument and have some structural differences. The exocyst is covered with slender microvilli. Its outer tegument contains numerous mitochondria; the inner one is filled with lipid droplets released into the exocyst's cavity. The well-developed protonephridial (excretory) system consisting of flame cells, collecting ducts and canals is the unique feature of the exocyst, noted for the first time. Thick (more, then 50 microm) distal cytoplasm of the outer tegument of the endocyst is the place of accumulation of uniform globules looking like a hyaloid layer. This outer layer together with underlying fibrous layer (up to 20 microm), apparently, protect the scolex and larval strobila during the transfer through feather clump in the stomach of grebes, definitive hosts of D. asper. Muscle cells of both envelopes retain their synthetic activity even in the fully developed metacestode. Probably, they are the main structural element, which produces fibers of the extracellular matrix and maintains the integrity of protective envelopes of the megalocercus.