Development of the anal vesicle, salivary glands and gut in the egg-larval parasitoid Chelonus inanitus: tools to take up nutrients and to manipulate the host?

Larvae of endoparasitoids undergo extensive morphological changes and often have special features to allow their development inside the host. We present the first detailed study on the development of the anal vesicle and the gut. The analyses reveal that the anal vesicle is first seen on the dorsal side of the abdomen as an internal structure covered by a membrane. The morphology of the abdomen then changes intensively: new segments are formed and the anal vesicle develops from a crest of large cells to a protrusion. Towards the end of the first instar, the anal vesicle is fully evaginated and no longer covered by a membrane; the large epithelial cells have microvilli on their apical side which suggests uptake of nutrients from the host's haemolymph. When the larva has moulted to the second instar, the ultrastructure of the anal vesicle begins to change and shows signs of degeneration. In this stage the epithelium of the midgut is fully developed and has a brush border which suggests that nutrient uptake occurs now primarily through the midgut. The anal vesicle then degenerates completely. The salivary glands are prominent already in first instar larvae and appear to produce and release a host regulatory 212 kD protein.