Ultrastructural study of the development of Babesia ovis (Piroplasmia) in the ovary of the vector tick Rhipicephalus bursa

The reproduction of Babesia ovis inside the ovary of the vector tick Rhipicephalus bursa was studied by electron microscopy. The kinetics of B. ovis invade the ovary of the tick via hemolymph. The kinete, when situated intracellularly, is transformed into a polymorphous stage that loses all features of the invasive form. The nucleus elongates enormously and forms many folds which extend throughout the cell. Subsequently, the lobulated nucleus and the cytoplasm are divided into numerous uninuclear cytomeres by invaginations of the cell boundary and by interconnecting endoplasmic reticulum. Each cytomere, bounded by a unit-membrane, measures ca. 4 microns in diameter and finally forms a new kinete. This proceeds as protrusion of the cytoplasm into an intracytoplasmic vacuole. An apical complex is initially visible at the tip of the protrusion that emerges steadily into the lumen of the expanding vacuole. The nucleus of each cytomere is incorporated into the newly formed kinete, which is surrounded by a coccidian pellicle the inner membranes of which are formed at the base of the intracellular protrusion. Nearly all of the cytoplasm is used for the differentiation of the kinete, which finally lies folded inside the vacuole. The kinete is apparently released by rupture of the vacuole. The description of this peculiar reproduction completes the knowledge of similar reproductive processes in other tissues of the tick. A comparison of the differentiation of the kinete in Babesia and in Theileria indicates a similar mode of development.