Search results for "Spermatocyte"
showing 10 items of 19 documents
Lipid accumulation and metabolism in polychaete spermatogenesis: Role of the large discoidal lipoprotein
2010
In most oviparous animals, lipoprotein-mediated lipid transport plays an important role in the nutrient supply for the oocyte. In male gametes, lipids are used as energy substrates in spermatozoa but nothing is yet known about their origin and metabolism throughout spermatogenesis. The lipid profiles analyzed from different stages of male germ cell development in the marine annelid Nereis virens were found to undergo a dramatic change from primary triacylglycerides at the beginning of germ cell development to cholesterol and phospholipids at the end of development as demonstrated by HPLC with evaporative light scattering detection and mass spectrometry. The uptake of a large discoidal lipop…
Multiple sex-chromosome system and other karyological characterizations of Pterotrachea hippocampus (Mollusca: Mesogastropoda)
1993
Two modal diploid numbers of chromosomes were found for Pterotraches hippocampus Philippi (Mollusca: Mesogastropoda) collected from the Gulf of Palermo in 1990: 2n=31 and 32 for males and females, respectively. This, along with other karyological characteristics such as the occurrence of a trivalent configuration at diakinesis and two types of metaphase-II spreads in spermatocytes, supports the notion that a X1X2Y♂/X1X1X2X2♀ sex mechanism operates in the species investigated here. Silver nitrate procedure revealed an intraindividual variation in the Ag-staining pattern occurring in this species. The majority of the chromosome pair displayed terminal and/or interstitial heterochromatic block…
Centrosome structure is very similar in eupyrene and apyrene spermatocytes ofEphestia kuehniella(Pyralidae, Lepidoptera, Insecta)
1997
Summary The higher Lepidoptera produce two types of sperm, eupyrene and apyrene. Eupyrene spermatozoa are fertile, while apyrene spermatozoa are anucleate and, therefore, sterile. Meiosis differs between the two developmental lines. One of the most obvious differences is the aberrant organization of the apyrene spindles. They possess fewer microtubules than eupyrene spindles and chromosome segregation is irregular. To determine whether micotubule nucleation is impaired in the aprene spindles, the present fine structure study concentrated on the centrosomes in both spermatocyte types. In addition, the presence of gamma-tubulin, a newly discovered tubulin isoform which is prevalent in centros…
Karyotype analysis of the sea urchinParacentrotus lividus (Echinodermata): evidence for a heteromorphic chromosome sex mechanism
1996
A consistent diploid number of 2n = 36 was determined for the sea urchinParacentrotus lividus from the Gulf of Palermo by analysis of mitotic chromosomes of both early developing embryos and male gonads. The haploid numbern = 18 was determined by counts of spermatocyte bivalents at diakinesis. A heteromorphic chromosome sex mechanism of the XY type is likely present in this species. This is indicated by the occurrence of a chromosomal pair, pair No. 2, which is heteromorphic in both morphology and size in about 50% of the mitotic figures (metaphases and anaphases) of einbryos. In addition, heteromorphism of the same pair of chromosomes occurred during spermatogonial metaphases in the five m…
Ag-NOR and C-banding analysis of spermatocyte chromosomes ofClavelina lepadiformis(Ascidiacea, Aplousobranchiata)
1991
SUMMARYChromosome number n = 9 and 2n = 18 for Clavelina lepadiformis (Ascidiacea, Aplousobranchiata) from the Gulf of Palermo have been determined. Silver staining analysis of testicular cells reveals that within-individual variability in NOR banding patterns is present. Using the C-banding procedure, a very impressive heterochromatin amount seems to characterize the chromosome set of this species.
Microtubule organization and distribution of gamma-tubulin in male meiosis of lepidoptera
1996
Meiotic spindles in males of higher Lepidotera are unusual in that the bulk of the spindle micro-tubules (MTs) ends about halfway between the equatorial plate and the centrosomes in metaphase. It appears worthwhile to determine how the MTs are nucleated, while their pole proximal ends are distant from the centrosomes. To this end, spermatocytes of Phragmatobia fuliginosa (Arctiidae), collected in the field, were double-labeled with antibodies to beta- and gamma-tubulin. The former antibody reveals the entire microtubular cytoskeleton, and the latter is directed against a newly-discovered tublin isoform that is prevalent in microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs). The immunocytochemical work …
Differential expression of estrogen receptors (ER?/ER?) in testis of mature and immature pigs
2004
High affinity estrogen receptors (ERs) mediate estrogen action in male reproductive tissues. The objective of the present study was the immunolocalization of estrogen receptor alpha and estrogen receptor beta in immature and mature testes of pig, a species in which the role of estrogens on gonadal function is scarcely known. Testes from 3 and 18 month-old pigs were investigated. Immunohistochemistry was performed on paraffin embedded-tissues using both mouse anti-human monoclonal IgG ERalpha and IgG ERbeta 1 isoform. Western blot analysis demonstrated antibody specificity. ERalpha staining was not observed in immature testes, but it was detected in spermatogonia, spermatocytes and in the mo…
A high incidence of meiotic silencing of unsynapsed chromatin is not associated with substantial pachytene loss in heterozygous male mice carrying mu…
2009
Meiosis is a complex type of cell division that involves homologous chromosome pairing, synapsis, recombination, and segregation. When any of these processes is altered, cellular checkpoints arrest meiosis progression and induce cell elimination. Meiotic impairment is particularly frequent in organisms bearing chromosomal translocations. When chromosomal translocations appear in heterozygosis, the chromosomes involved may not correctly complete synapsis, recombination, and/or segregation, thus promoting the activation of checkpoints that lead to the death of the meiocytes. In mammals and other organisms, the unsynapsed chromosomal regions are subject to a process called meiotic silencing of…
Stage-specific chromosomal association of Drosophila dMBD2/3 during genome activation.
2002
The Drosophila gene dMBD2/3 encodes a protein with significant homologies to the mammalian methyl-DNA binding proteins MBD2 and MBD3. These proteins are essential components of chromatin complexes involved in epigenetic gene regulation. Because the available in vitro data on dMBD2/3 are conflicting we have started an in vivo characterization of dMBD2/3. We detected expression of two isoforms specifically during embryonic development. Staining of whole embryos combined with high-resolution confocal microscopy revealed a highly regulated spatial distribution. During the syncytial blastoderm stage, dMBD2/3 formed speckles that localized to the cytoplasm. Shortly after, during the cellular blas…
RADHA - a new male germ line-specific chromosomal protein of Drosophila
1999
A new chromosomal protein - RADHA - of Drosophila is described that is specific for the male germ line. It is encoded by a single-copy gene, located in the region 96C-D of D. melanogaster polytene chromosomes. Transcription of the radha gene is restricted to the primary spermatocyte stage. The protein initially accumulates in some of the Y-chromosomal lampbrush loops. After meiosis it is found in the nuclei of spermatids and might be involved in chromatin rearrangement processes in the male germ line. RADHA is a basic protein with a C-terminal leucine zipper region and several segments capable of forming coiled-coil structures.