Different secretions present in the female sperm storage organ.

<p>(A–B) Virgin female spermathecae are mainly filled with large electron-lucent vesicles. LM and TEM. (C–E) In mated females the spermathecae are filled with filamentous and granular secretion whereas the latter is likely transferred by the male (D–E). TEM. Abbreviations: dSp, decapsulated spermatozoa; Sec, secretion; SW, spermathecal wall.</p

Time dependent appearance of decapsulated (A) and uncoiled sperm (B).

<p>Residency time is the time sperm spent in the spermathecae from copulation to dissection. The empty squares mark females dissected after oviposition.</p

Spermatozoa in the male and female genital system of <i>Argiope bruennichi</i>.

<p>(A) In the male deferent ducts the encapsulated spermatozoa (cleistospermia) are embedded in seminal secretion (TEM). (B-D) Different conditions of sperm appear during sperm storage in the female genital system (TEM). Encapsulated spermatozoa are coiled and surrounded by an electron dense secretion sheath. Decapsulated spermatozoa are found without the secretion sheath, but the cell components are still coiled. Uncoiled sperm are often intermingled and characterized by less denser chromatin. Abbreviations: AV, acrosomal vacuole; Ax, axoneme; N, nucleus; Sec, secretion; Sp, spermatozoon; SSh, secretion sheath.</p

The sperm storage organs of <i>Argiope bruennichi</i> females.

<p>(A) Dorsal view of the female genitalia showing the paired spermathecae after maceration. SEM. (B) Dorsal side of the spermathecae with irregularly distributed pores containing several glandular ducts (inset, arrow). SEM. (C) Section of a spermatheca showing the thick spermathecal wall and the large pores (inset, arrows). SEM. (D-E) Cross- and longitudinal section through the genital region showing the spermathecae with copulatory and fertilization duct. The arrows point to the glandular pores. The grey square marks the position of the section depicted in Fig. 1F. micro-CT. (F) Section through the basal part of a spermatheca showing fertilization duct with uncoiled sperm (see also Fig. 2) and copulatory duct with possible male secretion (see also Fig. 4E). TEM. Abbreviations: At, atrium; CD, copulatory duct; FD, fertilization duct; GO, genital opening; S, spermatheca; Sc, scape; Sec, secretion; Sp, sperm; St, stalk; SW, spermathecal wall; UE, uterus externus; uSp, uncoiled sperm.</p

Overview of the terminology used by different authors on the conditions of spider spermatozoa in the female genital system after insemination.

<p>The assignment to one of the three sperm conditions as found for <i>A. bruennichi</i> (secretion sheath present or absent, uncoiled) is suggested by the authors of the present study.</p>*<p>The authors mentioned that the spermatozoa are decapsulated and “potentially mobile” (p. 364).</p>**<p>This condition was not shown in the paper, but mentioned as an unpublished result in the discussion (p. 130).</p

Relative and absolute protein contents, molecular masses and hypothetical concentrations of individual salivary gland proteins in the circulation of a human host (distribution volume: 5 l).

<p>Relative and absolute protein contents, molecular masses and hypothetical concentrations of individual salivary gland proteins in the circulation of a human host (distribution volume: 5 l).</p

Example images of Azan stained longitudinal sections (6 µm) of leech tissue.

<p>Tissue was prepared from the central portion of the anterior body containing the cell bodies of salivary gland cells. A - unfed leech, B - leech fed at a human host for 30 min just before being fixed for histological analysis. The arrows point to individual cell bodies of salivary gland cells. bv -blood vessel, m - strands of muscle cells.</p

Quantification of protein density in individual salivary gland cell bodies.

<p>Mouse skeletal muscle (A) or pig liver (B) were used as reference tissues (for which sample mass, sample volume and protein content had been previously determined) for determining protein densities in leech salivary gland cells (C). Cryo-sections (6 µm) of all three tissue types were mounted onto microscopic slides and simultaneously stained using Bradford reagent. Images were taken using the same settings of microscope and camera. Densitometric analyses were performed on digital images of the reference tissues in the fields a - d. Background (bg) corrected means were used to construct a calibration curve, which was used to read out the protein content of individual cell bodies of leech salivary gland cells using the background corrected density values measured in the fields marked with white squares (C).</p

Azan stained cross section through the anterior body of a leech (A) and 3 D reconstruction of a tissue block (B) from a tissue cylinder in this area.

<p>The salivary gland cells are located in an area between the gastrointestinal lining (encircled by the inner white circle in A) and the body wall muscle layer (outside of the outer white circle in A). The reconstructed tissue block represents approximately 1/12 of the entire tissue in the circumference of the respective tissue layer. bv - blood vessel, m - strands of muscle fibers, n - nephridium, sgc - salivary gland cell.</p

Examples of 2 D gels prepared using protein extracts from the central portions of the anterior body parts of an unfed and a fed leech.

<p>A - unfed leech, B - leech fed pig blood for 30 min just before being prepared. Proteins had been separated according to their pI by isoelectric focussing (horizontal axis) and subsequently according to their masses by SDS electrophoresis (vertical axis) and silver stained. Spots labeled by black circles were regularly present in samples from unfed as well as from recently fed leeches, while spots labeled by red circles were generally present in unfed leeches but absent in fed leeches. Proteins represented by the spots labeled in red were considered to be secretory salivary gland proteins which are mobilized during feeding and transferred to the host.</p