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Morphological and Ultrastructural Studies of Moose Spermatozoa
Morfologiske og ultrastrukturelle undersøkeiser av elgspermier
Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 14, pages 81–91 (1973)
Abstract
Epididymal spermatozoa from moose were studied in phase contrast, light interference and electron microscope. Some samples taken from cauda were diluted and frozen in liquid N2. The motility of the sperms after thawing was good.
The concentration of spermatozoa in cauda was calculated to 10 × 106 cells per µl.
Morphologically the spermatozoa of moose were found to be quite similar to those collected from bulls. The length of the sperm head was found to be approx. 8.8 µ and the average maximal width 5.2 µ. The average length of the tail was 54.7 µ and the entire length of the spermatozoon varied from 60 to 64 µ. Compared with sperm cells from bulls the moose spermatozoa appeared to have a somewhat shorter and broader head and a slightly shorter tail.
The migration of the cytoplasmatic droplets, which was found to be completed in caput, seemed to follow the same pattern as in bulls and boars. As found in these species there was also in the moose a higher frequency of secondary abnormalities in the spermatozoa from cauda than in those from the other parts of epididymis.
Studies of the fine structure of the moose spermatozoa seemed to indicate that these are of the same type as the spermatozoa of bulls, rams and boars. In sagittal sections the sperm head was thin, but in contrast to the sperm cells of the species mentioned above no typical waist-like narrowing in the equatorial region was found. The equatorial segment also seemed to be less arched than in the spermatozoa from bulls, rams and boars. Otherwise, no principal difference was found between ultrastructure of the moose spermatozoa and that of the spermatozoa collected from domestic species.
Sammendrag
Spermier fra bitestikkelen hos elg blev undersøkt i fasekontrast-, interferens- og elektronmikroskop. Endel materiale fra cauda epididymidis blev fortynnet og frosset ned i flytende N2. Etter opptining viste spermiene god motilitet.
På grunnlag av tellinger i haemocytometer blev spermieinnholdet i cauda beregnet til ca. 10 × 106 celler pr. mm3.
Morfologisk viste elgspermiene stor likhet med spermier fra okse.
Ved bruk av mikrometer ble lengden av spermiehodet målt til ca. 8,8 µ, og den maksimale bredde til ca. 5,2 µ. Gjennomsnittslengden av halen var 54,7 µ, og total lengde av spermiene varierte mellom 60 og 64 µ. Sammenlignet med oksespermier har elgspermiene noe kortere og bredere hode og litt kortere hale. Migrasjonen av protoplasmadråper ble funnet avsluttet i caput og synes dermed stor sett å følge det samme mønster som hos okse og råne. I overensstemmelse med forholdene hos disse fant en også hos elg et høyere antall sekundære spermieabnormiteter i cauda enn i de øvrige avsnitt av bitestikkelen.
Elektronmikroskopiske undersøkeiser av ferskt og opptint materiale viste at elgspermiene stor sett er av samme type som spermier fra okse, vær og råne. Spermiehodet var langt og smalt i sagitalsnitt, men synes å mangle den innsnevring av kjernen som er påvist innenfor ekvatorial-segmentet hos spermier fra de nevnte arter. Dette segmentet var muligens også noe mindre buet fortil enn hos okse-, værog rånespermier. Ultrastrukturen av spermienes forskjeilige deler forøvrig viste ingen prinsipielle avvikelser fra det som tidligere er funnet hos domestiserte arter.
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Andersen, K. Morphological and Ultrastructural Studies of Moose Spermatozoa. Acta Vet Scand 14, 81–91 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03547412
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03547412