| Title: | "The oral gland, a new exocrine organ of termites" |
| Author(s): | Synek J; Berankova T; Stiblik P; Pflegerova J; Akama PD; Bourguignon T; Sillam-Dusses D; Sobotnik J; |
| Address: | "Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamycka 129, 165 21 Praha 6 Suchdol, Czech Republic. Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic. Departement des Sciences Biologiques, Ecole Normale Superieure, Universite de Yaounde I, BP 47 Yaounde, Cameroon. Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamycka 129, 165 21 Praha 6 Suchdol, Czech Republic; Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, 1919-1 Tancha, Onna-son, Okinawa 904-0495, Japan. Universite Paris 13 - Sorbonne Paris Cite, LEEC, EA 4443, 99 Avenue Jean-Baptiste Clement, 93430 Villetaneuse, France. Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamycka 129, 165 21 Praha 6 Suchdol, Czech Republic. Electronic address: sobotnik@fld.czu.cz" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.asd.2019.100876 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1873-5495 (Electronic) 1467-8039 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Termites have a rich set of exocrine glands. These glands are located all over the body, appearing in the head, thorax, legs and abdomen. Here, we describe the oral gland, a new gland formed by no more than a few tens of Class I secretory cells. The gland is divided into two secretory regions located just behind the mouth, on the dorsal and ventral side of the pharynx, respectively. The dominant secretory organelle is a smooth endoplasmic reticulum. Secretion release is under direct control of axons located within basal invaginations of the secretory cells. The secretion is released through a modified porous cuticle located at the mouth opening. We confirmed the presence of the oral gland in workers and soldiers of several wood- and soil-feeding species of Rhinotermitidae and Termitidae, suggesting a broader distribution of the oral gland among termites. The oral gland is the smallest exocrine gland described in termites so far. We hypothesise that the oily secretion can either ease the passage of food or serve as a primer pheromone" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Exocrine Glands/ultrastructure Isoptera/*ultrastructure Microscopy, Electron, Transmission Mouth/ultrastructure Blattodea Isoptera Pharynx Smooth endoplasmic reticulum Termitoidae;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineSynek, Jiri Berankova, Tereza Stiblik, Petr Pflegerova, Jitka Akama, Pierre D Bourguignon, Thomas Sillam-Dusses, David Sobotnik, Jan eng England 2019/07/22 Arthropod Struct Dev. 2019 Jul; 51:32-36. doi: 10.1016/j.asd.2019.100876. Epub 2019 Aug 9" |
