精子胞浆小滴的发现及研究进展

精子成熟是一个复杂的过程,精子从睾丸向附睾运行过程当中,精子表面的胞浆逐渐脱落,最终精子成熟。各种原因引起的精子表面胞浆滞留最终形成胞浆小滴。胞浆小滴在多种物种中均有发现,与男性不育相关。     

猪胞浆内单精子注射研究进展

胞浆内单精子注射将体外受精和显微操作技术相结合,已成功应用于哺乳动物受精机理研究,家畜性控胚胎生产,动物转基因等领域。综述了猪胞浆内单精子注射的主要影响因素,包括卵母细胞体外成熟和预处理、精子的选择和处理、注射卵的人工激活以及操作技术的改进,为进一步提高猪胞浆内单精子注射的效率以及该技术的应用提供参考。     

华鲮受精早期的电镜观察

采用扫描和透射电镜观察了华鲮(Sinilabeo rendahli)成熟卵子、精子的形态特征和精子入卵的过程。结果显示:华鲮成熟卵子直径1.2 mm左右,仅有一个受精孔,卵膜表面有大量的不规则褶皱,精孔器表面平整;成熟精子全长约30μm,头部圆形无顶体;授精1 s精子大量附着于精孔器周围,仅有一个精子进入卵中,授精30~60 s受精孔内形成“受精栓”,精子开始溶解,卵膜逐渐隆起,褶皱消失。     

羊精子表面的凝集素标记特征

用辣根过氧化物酶标记的蓖麻凝集素和伴刀豆素Ａ,对绵羊精子表面的凝集素标记特征进行了观察。蓖麻凝集素在睾丸内精子的顶体区有中等强度标记,尾部有弱标记,在附睾内成熟时,顶体区标记逐渐增强,尾部的标记消失,获能后标记强度则明显减弱。伴刀豆素Ａ的标记在睾丸内的精子仅限于顶体区,随着在附睾内成熟,顶体区的标记增强,尾部也出现弱的标记,获能后有部分精子的标记强度有所增加。实验结果表明,羊精子在成熟过程和获能过程表面糖复合物发生明显修饰。     

哺乳动物受精与透明质酸

哺乳动物精子在睾丸内产生之后,经历了附睾内成熟,雌性生殖道中获能以及超激活运动,最终获得了受精能力。在透明带或其他因素诱导下,发生顶体反应。１精子的成熟与获能精子的成熟与获能,均与精子头部膜的变化有关,精子从附睾头向附睾尾的运动过程中,逐步获得受精能力（Ｙａｎａｇｉｍａｃｈｉ,１９９４）。附睾内精子成熟的变化主要发生在以下几个方面：１．质膜上胆固醇含量增多。２．由于吸附了附睾分泌的大量蛋白质...     

小鼠精子表面SBA结合糖复合物的形成与变化

用ＨＲＰ标记的大豆凝集素（ＳＢＡ）对睾丸与附睾切片,以及取自附睾和子宫（交配后）内的精子进行了标记,旨在认识精子在发生、成熟和获能过程中表面糖复合物的形成与变化规律。在睾丸内,精母细胞和早期精子细胞胞质内有一强阳性颗粒,处于精子形成期的精子细胞呈弱阳性标记。附睾管内的精子团呈强阳性,附睾管上皮则仅在游离缘呈弱阳性。交配后１．５小时自子宫内洗出的精子,其顶体区的标记增至强阳性,但随着在子宫内存留时间的延长,标记强度逐渐减弱或消失。结果表明,１）精子表面的ＳＢＡ结合糖复合物出现于精子形成期;２）在成熟和获能过程中精子表面的ＳＢＡ结合糖复合物发生明显的变化     

革胡子鲶受精过程的扫描电镜观察

应用扫描电镜观察和描述了革胡子鲶成熟卵和精子的形态、卵壳膜的表面结构和形态、受精孔的位置和结构、精子入卵过程的程序和变化。讨论了精子入卵过程及精孔细胞在解体之后可能转变为一种能够吸引精子在精孔区聚集的“受精素”物质等问题。     

糖蛋白物与发育

糖与蛋白质或脂类共价结合而成的糖蛋白、蛋白聚糖、糖脂以及脂多糖统称糖复合物 ,最近几年人们对糖复合物在生物发育过程中的作用进行了大量的研究 ,已经在许多方面取得了重大进展。1 .糖复合物与配子发生和受精配子发生和受精过程中有大量糖复合物的参与 ,他们在配子发生、精卵识别与受精以及受精完成后防止多精穿入的皮层反应等过程中发挥作用。哺乳动物精子表面有一层几百种糖蛋白组成的糖萼 ,其成熟是精子成熟的标志。射出的精子头部外表面的糖蛋白能阻止顶体酶的释放 ,在获能过程中该糖蛋白被雌性生殖管道分泌物中的酶降解后精子才获…     

体外培养日本血吸虫成虫生殖器官超微结构的观察

将日本血吸虫成虫于851培养基中培养23天后,对其生殖器官进行透射电镜观察。观察结果显示,雌虫卵巢内卵母细胞出现不同程度的变性、坏死;成熟卵黄细胞的卵黄小滴融合,脂质小滴数量增多、体积增大;培养后期卵壳形成发生障碍,最终导致无活性、无卵壳的畸形卵形成。超微结构观察首次显示,体外初产期虫卵卵壳中有条带状低电子密度区和高电子密度区相间排列。     

精子头后部质膜融合蛋白fertilin的研究进展

精子头后部(或赤道区)表面fertilin糖蛋白由相关的两个跨膜亚基α和β构成异二体形式。这两个亚基前体均含有金属蛋白酶区(met-alloprotease domain)和整联蛋白配体区(disin-tegrin domain),属于ADAMs gene家族。α和β前体分别在睾丸和附睾中从上述两区域连接处水解后,得到成熟型亚基。受精时,穿过透明带的顶体反应后精子借助β亚基的disintegrin肽段与卵母细胞表面的整联蛋白结合,同时fertilin结构发生变化,暴露出α亚基上潜在的融合肽段(90—111aa),并介导精子与卵母细胞发生质膜融合,最终完成受精过程。     

Coevolution of non-fertile sperm and female receptivity in a butterfly

Sexual conflict can promote rapid evolution of male and female reproductive traits. Males of many polyandrous butterflies transfer nutrients at mating that enhances female fecundity, but generates sexual conflict over female remating due to sperm competition. Butterflies produce both normal fertilizing sperm and large numbers of non-fertile sperm. In the green-veined white butterfly, Pieris napi, non-fertile sperm fill the females'' sperm storage organ, switching off receptivity and thereby reducing female remating. There is genetic variation in the number of non-fertile sperm stored, which directly relates to the female''s refractory period. There is also genetic variation in males'' sperm production. Here, we show that females'' refractory period and males'' sperm production are genetically correlated using quantitative genetic and selection experiments. Thus selection on male manipulation may increase the frequency of susceptible females to such manipulations as a correlated response and vice versa.     

Fertilization by proxy: rival sperm removal and translocation in a beetle

Competition between different males'' sperm for the fertilization of ova has led to the evolution of a diversity of characters in male reproductive behaviour, physiology and morphology. Males may increase sperm competition success either by enhancing the success of their own sperm or by negating or eliminating the success of rival sperm. Here, we find that in the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, the second male to mate gains fertilization precedence over previous males'' sperm and fertilizes approximately two-thirds of the eggs. It is not known what mechanism underlies this pattern of last-male sperm precedence; however, the elongate tubules of the female sperm storage organ may encourage a ''last-in, first-out'' sperm use sequence. Here we present an additional or alternative mechanism of sperm precedence whereby previously deposited sperm are removed from the female tract by the mating male''s genitalia. In addition to providing evidence for sperm removal in T. castaneum, we also show that removed, non-self sperm may be translocated back into the reproductive tracts of new, previously unmated females, where the translocated sperm go on to gain significant fertilization success. We found that, in 45 out of 204 crosses, sperm translocation occurred and in these 45 crosses over half of the offspring were sired by spermatozoa which had been translocated between females on the male genitalia. In the natural environment of stored food, reproductively active T. castaneum adults aggregate in dense mating populations where copulation is frequent (we show in three naturally occurring population densities that copula duration and intermating intervals across three subsequent matings average 1 to 2 min). Selection upon males to remove rival sperm may have resulted in counter-selection upon spermatozoa to survive removal and be translocated into new females where they go on to fertilize in significant numbers.     

Coevolution of sperm and female reproductive tract morphology in stalk-eyed flies

Sperm and female reproductive tract morphology are among the most rapidly evolving characters known in insects. To investigate whether interspecific variation in these traits results from divergent coevolution we examined testis size, sperm length and female reproductive tract morphology for evidence of correlated evolution using 13 species of diopsid stalk-eyed flies. We found that sperm dimorphism (the simultaneous production of two size classes of sperm by individual males) is ancestral and occurs in four genera while sperm monomorphism evolved once and persists in one genus. The length of ''long-sperm'' types, though unrelated to male body or testis size, exhibits correlated evolution with two regions of the female reproductive tract, the spermathecae and ventral receptacle, where sperm are typically stored and used for fertilization, respectively. Two lines of evidence indicate that ''short sperm'', which are probably incapable of fertilization, coevolve with spermathecae. First, loss of sperm dimorphism coincides phylogenetically with reduction or loss of spermathecae. Second, evolutionary change in short-sperm length correlates with change in spermathecal size but not spermathecal duct length or ventral receptacle length. Morphological coevolution between sperm and female reproductive tracts is consistent with a history of female-mediated selection on sperm length.     

On sperm competition games: incomplete fertilization risk and the equity paradox

Evolutionary game theory has been used to predict the effect on sperm expenditure of a trade-off between the value of a mating and the cost of its acquisition. In particular, G. A. Parker has predicted that if two males ''know'' whether they are first or second to mate, but these roles are assigned randomly, then sperm numbers should be the same for both males whether the ''raffle'' for fertilization is fair or unfair. This prediction relies on the assumption that, in the absence of sperm competition, ejaculates would always contain enough sperm to ensure complete fertilization after mating. The slightest risk of incomplete fertilization, however, is enough to ensure that favoured males expend more than disfavoured males in the presence of sperm competition, unless the competition is perfectly fair. Divergence of expenditures increases with unfairness until unfairness reaches a critical value, beyond which a disfavoured male should no longer compete. The higher the fertilization risk, the lower the critical unfairness. All predictions are independent of the probability of mating first or second. Implications are discussed for the mechanisms that underlie sperm competition.     

Sperm numbers,their storage and usage in the fly Dryomyza anilis

In the fly Dryomyza anilis females have two kinds of sperm storage organs: one bursa copulatrix and three spermathecae (two spermathecae with a common duct form the doublet, and the third is a singlet spermathecal unit). At the beginning of a mating the male deposits his sperm in the bursa copulatrix. After sperm transfer the male taps the female''s abdomen with his claspers. This behaviour has been shown to increase the male''s fertilization success. After mating, the female discharges large quantities of sperm before oviposition. To find out where the sperm remaining in the female are stored, I counted the number of sperm in the droplet and in the female''s sperm storage organs after different types of mating. I carried out three mating experiments. In experiment 1, virgin females were mated with one male and the matings were interrupted either immediately after sperm transfer or after several tapping sequences. The results show that during male tapping more sperm moved into the singlet spermatheca. In addition, the total number of sperm correlated with sperm numbers in all sperm storage organs, and male size was positively related to the number of sperm remaining in the bursa. In experiment 2, females mated with several males. The number of sperm increased with increasing number of matings only in the doublet spermatheca. No increase in the number of sperm in the singlet spermatheca during consecutive matings suggests that sperm were replaced or did not reach this sperm storage organ. In experiment 3, virgin females were mated with a single male and half of them were allowed to lay eggs. The experiment showed that during egglaying, females primarily used sperm from their singlet spermatheca. The results from the three experiments suggest that sperm stored in the singlet spermatheca is central for male fertilization success and male tapping is related to sperm storage in the singlet spermatheca. The different female''s sperm storage organs in D. anilis may have separate functions during sperm storage as well as during sperm usage.     

Male sperm storage compromises sperm motility in guppies

Sperm senescence can have important evolutionary implications due to its deleterious effects on sperm quality and offspring performance. Consequently, it has been argued that polyandry (female multiple mating) may facilitate the selection of younger, and therefore competitively superior, sperm when ejaculates from multiple males compete for fertilization. Surprisingly, however, unequivocal evidence that sperm ageing influences traits that underlie sperm competitiveness is lacking. Here, we used a paired experimental design that compares sperm quality between ‘old’ and ‘young’ ejaculates from individual male guppies (Poecilia reticulata). We show that older sperm exhibit significant reductions in sperm velocity compared with younger sperm from the same males. We found no evidence that the brightness of the male''s orange (carotenoid) spots, which are thought to signal resistance to oxidative stress (and thus age-related declines in sperm fitness), signals a male''s ability to withstand the deleterious effects of sperm ageing. Instead, polyandry may be a more effective strategy for females to minimize the likelihood of being fertilized by aged sperm.     

Geographic variation in sperm production by Trinidadian guppies

Population comparisons yield important insights into adaptive differentiation. However, despite the current interest in sperm competition and spermatogenesis, geographic variation in these traits has received little attention. We tested the hypothesis that sperm production covaries with risk by comparing five natural populations of Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata): two that inhabited dangerous Crenicichla localities, two from low-risk Rivulus sites and a ''transplant'' population comprised of the descendants of guppies moved from one of the high-risk sites to a low-predation environment. As predicted, males from the three low-risk sites performed significantly more courtship displays and had larger sperm reserves than their high-risk counterparts. This result implies higher rates of sperm competition in the low-risk sites.     

Sperm Swimming Velocity Predicts Competitive Fertilization Success in the Green Swordtail Xiphophorus helleri

Sperm competition is expected to favour the evolution of traits that influence the performance of sperm when they compete to fertilize a female''s eggs. While there is considerable evidence that selection favours increases in sperm numbers, much less is known about how sperm quality contributes towards competitive fertilization success. Here, we determine whether variation in sperm quality influences competitive fertilization success in the green swordtail Xiphophorus helleri, a highly promiscuous livebearing fish. We use artificial insemination as a method of controlled sperm delivery and show that sperm swimming velocity is the primary determinant of fertilization success when ejaculates from two males compete to fertilize a female''s eggs. By contrast, we found no evidence that sperm length had any effect on siring success. We also found no evidence that pre- and postcopulatory sexual traits were phenotypically integrated in this species, suggesting that the previous observation that reproductive skew favours males with high mating rates is unlikely to be due to any direct association between sperm quality and male sexual ornamentation.     

A female nervous system is necessary for normal sperm storage in Drosophila melanogaster: a masculinized nervous system is as good as none

A male Drosophila melanogaster deposits many more sperm in a female''s bursa copulatrix than are stored in her ventral receptacle or paired spermathecae soon after copula has ended. The remaining sperm are expelled by the female. These observations suggest a sexual conflict over the processes involved in sperm storage. We used genetically manipulated flies to study the role of the central nervous system in sperm storage. Flies with female bodies but masculinized nervous systems, or isolated female abdomens, stored significantly fewer sperm than did control females. Furthermore, compared with control flies, there were relatively more sperm in the ventral receptacle and relatively fewer in the spermathecae. These results suggest that the female nervous input counteracts the male''s attempts to force sperm into the ventral receptacle during copula and promotes active transport of sperm to the spermathecae during and after copula. The female is clearly a very active partner in influencing processes involved in sperm competition, especially as only stored sperm can be used later to fertilize eggs. To our knowledge, this is the first study to show directly the involvement of the female nervous system in sperm storage.     

Paternity of offspring in multiply-mated,female crickets: the effect of nuptial food gifts and the advantage of mating first

The spermatophore transferred by male decorated crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) includes a large gelatinous mass, the spermatophylax, that is consumed by the female after mating. This nuptial gift preoccupies the female while sperm are discharged from the remaining portion of the spermatophore, the sperm ampulla, into her reproductive tract. There is considerable variation in the mass of the spermatophylax, and about half of all males produce spermatophylaxes that are too small to ensure complete sperm transfer. We tested two hypotheses concerning the maintenance of this variation: (i) males trade-off investment in spermatophylaxes against copulation frequency; and (ii) males synthesize the largest spermatophylaxes of which they are physiologically capable. Males synthesizing large and small food gifts were permitted multiple mating opportunities with the same females, and allozyme markers were used to establish the paternity of offspring. There was a significant advantage to those males that mated first irrespective of gift size. This advantage probably arose, in part, because the sperm of first males would have had exclusive access to females'' eggs during the first 24 hours of oviposition, and underscores the benefits of matings with virgin females. The paternity of ''small-gift'' males increased with gift mass, but there was no such increase in ''large-gift'' males. This difference probably stems from the relationship between gift mass and sperm transfer: most of the gifts of the large-gift males would have been above the threshold needed to achieve complete inseminations, whereas those of small-gift males would have been below the threshold. Within mating-order positions, there was no significant difference in the paternity of large-gift and small-gift males, a result seemingly consistent with the ''trade-off'' hypothesis. However, there was no correlation between spermatophylax mass and male mating frequency, so that the mechanism by which small-gift males offset their fertilization disadvantage remains unknown.