An ultrastructural comparative study of the sperm

Authors: Gabriel C Costa Gustavo H C Vieira Ruscaia D Teixeira Adrian A Garda Guarino R Colli Sônia N Báo

Publish Date: 2004/04/29

Volume: 123, Issue: 4, Pages: 191-197

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Abstract

We make detailed comparisons of the ultrastructure of the spermatozoon among three species of the family Hylidae Hyla pseudopseudis Scinax rostratus and S squalirostris The acrosome complex consists of two conical structures covering the nuclear rostrum the acrosome vesicle and the subacrosomal cone The nucleus has a moderately condensed chromatin with a conical shape in longitudinal sections and a circular shape in crosssections In H pseudopseudis mitochondria are numerous and circular and in S rostratus and S squalirostris there are fewer mitochondria that are more elongate in longitudinal and transverse sections In H pseudopseudis the mitochondrial collar starts adjacent to the distal centriole occupying the whole midpiece whereas in both Scinax species the mitochondrial collar starts only at the posterior onethird of the midpiece In both Scinax species the presence of juxtaaxonemal fiber axial sheath and axial fiber in the tail are seemingly plesiomorphic characters widespread among bufonoid frogs In H pseudopseudis however the absence of axial fiber and axial sheath seems to be derived from the typical bufonoid condition The differences between Hyla and Scinax sperm endorse the separation of the two genera and suggest that sperm ultrastructure can be a useful tool to investigate relationships at the intrafamily levelThis work was supported by Fundação de Empreendimentos Científicos e Tecnológicos – FINATEC by an “Iniciação Científica” fellowship from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico – CNPq PIBICCNPqUnB to GCC by a doctorate fellowship from CNPq to GHCV by fellowships from Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – CAPES to AAG and RDT and by research fellowships from CNPq to GRC number 302343/88–1 and SNB number 520130/97–9

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