Germinoma in razor clam Ensis arcuatus (Jeffreys, 1865) in Galicia (NW Spain)

• DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2006.06.009
• Publication Date: 2006-08-15T12:06:29Z
• Authors: Susana Darriba; David Iglesias; John C. Harshbarger; Carmen López
• Keywords: Mercenaria; Germinoma; Germinal epithelium

Germinoma is a gonadal neoplasm originating from progenitor cells in germinal epithelium. Over the last four decades it has been diagnosed in several species of marine bivalve molluscs but most consistently in some populations of Mercenaria mercenaria and Mya arenaria in North America. Tissue sections of gonads from Ensis arcuatus (family Pharidae--superfamily Solenacea), collected in Ría de Vigo (Galicia-NW Spain), revealed germinoma in both males and females. Proliferating, undifferentiated, germ cells, with no evidence of maturation, had formed discrete masses in the walls and lumens of gonadal follicles. This is the first report of germinoma in superfamily Solenacea.