The ultrastructure of the rostral sensory organs of the water bug, Cenocorixa bifida (Hungerford) (Hemiptera)

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
There are six transverse bands of sensory organs on the dorsal part of the labium of the water bug Cenocorixa bifida. Though phase contrast microscopy of the intact labium shows that each of these bands is made up of from four to six rows of sensilla, among which there are clearly several types of end structure, all appear to have the same ultrastructure below the surface of the cuticle.It was found by electron microscopy that each sense organ is composed of a single bipolar neuron, which, together with its sheath cell, forms a sensory unit. The dendrite of the neuron has a root system, two basal bodies, and an axial filament complex. It runs through the cuticle to the peg at the surface. Owing to difficulty in sectioning, no details of the terminal pegs were obtained, though they have a definite lumen at their base.The tips of the largest sensilla, but no others, were permeable to a solution of crystal violet. This permeability, their ultrastructure, and their location near the mouth and close to numerous obvious mechanoreceptors with long bristles, make it possible that these organs are chemoreceptors. Only electrophysiological studies can confirm this. The function of the rest of the sensilla, which form the majority, is unknown.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: