Ultrastructure of the cysts of Sarcocystis hardangeri from skeletal muscle of reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus tarandus )

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Author: Gjerde, Bjørn
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1985
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Alces alces; Rangifer tarandus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z85-400; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z85-400

Cysts of Sarcocystis hardangeri from reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) were examined by transmission electron microscopy. The large ovoid cysts were located within distended skeletal muscle cells, which were encapsulated by the thickened external lamina of the muscle cell and an exterior thick layer of collagen-rich connective tissue. The cysts were limited by a unit membrane (the cyst membrane) that was raised into closely spaced anastomosing microplicae, forming a honeycomb pattern. Between the microplicae the cyst membrane formed vesiclelike invaginations. The cyst surface was provided with numerous slanting linguiform processes, measuring 25–35 μm in length. The entire cyst surface, including the surface of the projections, had a highly irregular, folded outline. The projections contained a central bundle of longitudinally orientated microtubules. The interior of the cyst was rich in cyst ground substance that formed conspicuous septa. The metrocytes showed an extensive vacuolation of their cytoplasm, eventually leading to a disintegration of the cell. The cysts of S. hardangeri were structurally very similar to one type of sarcocysts previously reported from moose (Alces alces).