Onset of Spermatogenesis in Corriedale Ram Lambs under Extensive Rearing Conditions in Uruguay

The present study was undertaken to estimate the time for the attainment of spermatogenesis in spring-born Corriedale ram lambs under conditions of extensive grazing systems in Uruguay. Clinical (live weight, scrotal circumference, penile/preputial separation), morphologi-cal(light and electron microscopy) and endocrinological (testosterone levels) parameters were examined. Two experiments in 2 consecutive years were carried out. In Exp. I, 40 ram lambs were clinically examined, weighed, and blood-sampled at 2 week-intervals between 78 and 216 days of age. Sixteeen were castrated in 3 selected periods: 132-162 (n: 2), 145–175 (n: 6) and 186–216 days (n: 8). In Exp. II, 40 ram lambs appertaining to the next generation of the same flock were examined as above at 180–210 days of age, and castrated for morphological studies. The time for attainment of complete spermatogenesis correlated significantly with most corporal parameters (i.e. scrotal circumference (r = 0.52); testicular weight (r = 0.61), epididymal weight (r = 0.60), penile/preputial separation (r = 0.75). The age of castrated ram lambs correlated with the degree of spermatogenesis (r = 0.83), although no significant correlations were found with live weight or with levels of circulating testosterone. The histology showed major variations in the degree of development of the seminiferous epithelium. Cells undergoing degeneration were a common finding through the initial stages of spermatogenesis, coincident to the presence of sperm abnormalities and foreign cells in semen. By day 180 and onwards, both histology and seminal picture normalized. It is concluded that, under these rearing conditions, the onset of puberty (expressed as morphologically established spermatogenesis) in Corriedale ram lambs is attained at 180-216 days of age when they reach 23 cm of scrotal circumference and 191 g of testis weight. The finding of a high correlation between these parameters (r: 0.93) confirms the usefulness of the measurement of scrotal circumference during clinical examination of ram lambs in this breed.     

Influence of pre- and post-pubertal grazing regimes on adult testicular morphology in extensively reared corriedale rams

The aim of the present study was to determine whether pre- and post-pubertal young rams on different grazing regimes, resulting in differences in live weight (LW), would show corresponding differences in testicular growth or testicular morphometry that could influence the reproductive traits of these rams upon reaching adulthood. Forty-one spring-born Corriedale rams were reared on either native pasture (low feeding level, Group L, n=22) or improved pasture (higher feeding level, Group H, n=19) from 1 to 7 months of age. Thereafter, half the animals in the native-pasture group were placed on improved pasture and vice versa, thus creating an additional four differential-grazing treatment groups (Groups LL, n=11; LH, n=11; HL, n=10; and HH, n=9). Animals were managed in this way until 18 months of age. Half the animals from each group were then castrated and their testes were subjected to morphometric analysis. The remaining animals (Groups LL, n=6; LH, n=6; HL, n=5; and HH, n=4) were managed together until 30 months of age (from 18 to 27 months on native pastures and from 27 to 30 months of age on improved pastures, at a stocking rate of two to three rams per hectare), whereupon they were also castrated for testicular morphometry. LW and scrotal circumference (SC) were recorded every 60 days. The stereological analysis of testicular parenchyma included counts of elongated spermatids and Sertoli cells. Differences (P<0.001) in LW were observed between feeding levels, even at 30 months of age. Differences (P<0.001) in SC existing at the end of the differential treatment (18 months of age) disappeared (n.s.) soon after. Most differences (P<0.05) in testicular morphometry existing at the end of the differential treatments were no longer significant 1 year later. It is concluded that changes in grazing management during pre- and post-pubertal periods can induce short-lived differences in testicular post-natal growth in Corriedale rams but do not influence testicular morphology or function later in life.     

Pubertal Development of Intersertoli Cell Junctions in the Testis of Corriedale Ram Lambs

The ultrastructure of the tight junctional complex of pubertal ram lamb Sertoli cells was studied in immersion-fixed samples and related to clinical data and a light microscopical classification of the degree of spermatogenesis attained in the corresponding seminiferous tubule. Although the process followed the general mammalian developmental trend for tight junction complex formation, 2 unusual ultrastructural features were detected: the presence of an active Golgi complex during the early stage of tight junction formation and the transitory presence of ribosomes on both faces of the ectoplasmic cisternae bordering the developing junctions. The significance of these findings is discussed.