Morphology and Morphometry of the Midgut in the Stingless Bee Friesella schrottkyi (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

is a small stingless bee (3-mm long) important for agricultural and native forest pollination. This study describes the morphology and morphometry of the midgut in forager workers. The midgut presents a single-layered epithelium with digestive, regenerative and endocrine cells. The digestive cells a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2019-03, Vol.10 (3), p.73
Main Authors: Oliveira, André H, Gonçalves, Wagner G, Fernandes, Kenner M, Barcellos, Marcelo S, Sampaio, Wagner M S, Lopes, Marcos P, Martins, Gustavo F, Serrão, José E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bees
Cytoplasm
digestive cells
Digestive enzymes
digestive tract
Endoplasmic reticulum
Enzymes
Epithelium
FMRFamide
Friesella schrottkyi
Labyrinth
Medical research
Midgut
Mitochondria
Morphology
Morphometry
Nests
Nutrients
paracrine function
Paracrine signalling
Pollination
Variance analysis
Workers (insect caste)
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:is a small stingless bee (3-mm long) important for agricultural and native forest pollination. This study describes the morphology and morphometry of the midgut in forager workers. The midgut presents a single-layered epithelium with digestive, regenerative and endocrine cells. The digestive cells are similar along the entire midgut length with a spherical nucleus, apex with long striated border, cytoplasmic granules in the apical region and well-developed basal labyrinth associated with mitochondria, suggesting they are multifunctional, synthesizing digestive enzymes and peritrophic matrix compounds and absorbing nutrients. Regenerative cells are located around the basal region organized in nests with some cells with a spherical nucleus. Phe-Met-Arg-Phe-NH₂-amide (FMRFamide) positive endocrine cells are restricted to the posterior midgut region, suggesting a paracrine function in the midgut. This is the first morphological description of the midgut contributing to the comprehension of the digestive process of this bee.
ISSN:2075-4450
2075-4450
DOI:10.3390/insects10030073