DISTRIBUTION OF SURFACE CHARGE ON SPERMATOZOA OF THE STARFISH, ASTERINA PECTINIFERA

The distribution of the negative charge on the surface of acrosome-reacted and intact spermatozoa of the starfish, Asterina pectinifera , was studied with the charged colloidal iron hydroxide (CIH) labelling technique. All parts of its surface were shown to have an equal negative charge. Influenza virus brought about a type of sperm agglutination in which cells lay parallel to each other. The even distribution of anions on the sperm surface may be due to the existence of sialic acid all over the sperm surface.