Ultrastructure of somatic tissues in the ovaries of a chaetognath (Ferosagitta hispida)

Transmission electron microscopy reveals that the ovaries of Ferosagitta hispida contain four somatic tissues. A myoepithelial ovary wall, continuous with a thin layer of peritoneocytes lining the coelomic cavity, encloses a fluid-filled ovarian space in which oocytes develop. Lamellar extensions of a "follicular reticulum" branch throughout the ovarian space and ensheath developing oocytes. This tissue has been overlooked in most previous studies of chaetognath ovaries. A bipartite oviductal complex extends the length of each ovary just within the lateral ovary wall. It consists of a flattened, blindly ending cellular tube, herein referred to as the cellular sheath, and an enclosed syncytium. Sheath cells secrete an electron-dense product into the ovarian space. Those sheath cells directly bordering the syncytium are contractile and are joined to the to the syncytium by gap junctions and microvillar interdigitations. The syncytium contains a complex of membrane-bounded lumina. The latter sometimes enclose sperm received during mating or ovulated eggs. Thus the syncytium serves both as a seminal receptacle and as a duct for passage of eggs to the outside. Contrary to several classical reports, the cellular sheath and syncytium of the oviductal complex do not separate at ovulation to form a temporary oviductal lumen.