The ultrastructure of the mullet Mugil curema Valenciennes (Teleostei, Mugilidae) spermatozoa

Eiras-Stofella, Daura Regina; Gremski, Waldemiro; Kuligowski, Sandra Maria

doi:10.1590/S0101-81751993000400007

Abstract

The structure of the spermatozoon of Mugil curema Valenciennes, 1836 was studied using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The spermatic head is rounded and formed by the nucleus containing granular chromatin, firmly packed resulting in a mass extremely electron dense. The acrossome is absent. The midpiece is characterized by the presence of two centrioles, a plasmatic canal, very few vesicles, and several mitochondria (9-10) with aproximately 0.50µm in diameter. The head and the midpiece are aproximately 1.56µm in diameter. The flagellum conforms to the 9 + 0 flagellar pattern near the transition region in its midpiece and is 9 + 2 from there on up to the distal region of the axoneme. The electron density in the A tubules 1, 2, 5 and 6 shows the asymetry of this spermatozoa. Its spermatic cell differs ultrastructuraly from those of other Mugilidae species mainly because it has the highest number of mitochondria.

Teleostei; Mugilidae; mullet; Mugil curema; ultrastructure; spermatozoa

The ultrastructure of the mullet Mugil curema Valenciennes (Teleostei, Mugilidae) spermatozoa

Daura Regina Eiras-Stofella^I; Waldemiro Gremski^II; Sandra Maria Kuligowski^III

^ICentro de Microscopia Eletrônica, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Caixa Postal 17003, 80051-970 Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil

^IIDepartamento de Biologia Celular, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Caixa Postal 19031, 81531-970 Curitiba, Paraná, Brasil

^IIIBolsista de Iniciação Cientifica do CNPq

ABSTRACT

The structure of the spermatozoon of Mugil curema Valenciennes, 1836 was studied using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The spermatic head is rounded and formed by the nucleus containing granular chromatin, firmly packed resulting in a mass extremely electron dense. The acrossome is absent. The midpiece is characterized by the presence of two centrioles, a plasmatic canal, very few vesicles, and several mitochondria (9-10) with aproximately 0.50µm in diameter. The head and the midpiece are aproximately 1.56µm in diameter. The flagellum conforms to the 9 + 0 flagellar pattern near the transition region in its midpiece and is 9 + 2 from there on up to the distal region of the axoneme. The electron density in the A tubules 1, 2, 5 and 6 shows the asymetry of this spermatozoa. Its spermatic cell differs ultrastructuraly from those of other Mugilidae species mainly because it has the highest number of mitochondria.

Key words: Teleostei, Mugilidae,mullet, Mugil curema, ultrastructure, spermatozoa

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. To Vera Regina Fontana Pionteke (Electron Microscopy Centre, Federal University of Paraná) for her help with the photographic work in this paper and the National Research Council of Brazil (CNPq) by the partial financial support.

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

Recebido em 04.V.1993; aceito em 25.II.1994.

AFZELIUS, B.A. 1978. Fine structure of the garfish spermatozoon. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 64:309-314.
______. 1981. Electron dense microtubules in the animal sperm tail. J. Submicrosc. Cytol. 13:199-207.
BACCETI, B.; A.G. BURRINI; G. CALLAINI; G. GILBERTINI; M. MAZZINI & S. ZERUNIAN. 1984. Fish germinal cells. I. Comparative spermatology of seven cyprinid species. Gamete Res. 10:373-396.
BRUSLE, S. 9181. Ultrastructure of spermiogenesis in Liza aurata Risso, 1810 (Teleostei-Mugilidae). Cell Tissue Res. 217:415-424.
EIRAS-STOFELLA, D.R. & W. GREMSKI. 1991. Ultrastructural analysis of the mullet Mugil liza and Mugil platanus (Teleostei, Mugilidae) spermatozoa. Micr. Electr. Biol. Cel. 15 (2):173-178.
GINSBURG, A.S. 1968. Fertilization in fishes and the problem of polyspermy. Publishing House "Nauka" 1, 358p.
GRIER, H.J. 1975. Spermiogenesis in the teleost Gambusia affinis with particular reference to the role played by microtubules. Cell. Tiss. Res. 165:89-102.
GRIER, H.J.; J.M. FITZSIMONS & J.R. LINTON. 1978. Structure and ultrastructure of the testis and sperm formation in Goodeid Teleosts. J. Morph. 156:419-438.
MATTEI, X. 1970. Spermiogenèse comparèes des poissons, p.57-69. In: B. B ACCETTI (ed.). Comparative Spermatology. New York, Academic Press, 575p.
______. 1991. Spermatozoon ultrastructure and its systematic implications in fishes. Can. J. Zool. 69:3038-3055.
MATTEI, C. & X. MATTEI. 1978. La spermiogenese d'un poisson téléostéen (Lepadogaster lepadogaster). II. Le spermatozóide. Biol. Cell. 32:261-21A.
______. 1984. Spermatozoides biflagellés chez un poisson téléostéen de la famille des Apogonidae. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 88:223-228.
MATTEI, X.; C. MATTEI & C. BOISSON. 1967. L'extrémité flagellaire du spermatozoides de Lebistes reticulatus (Poecillidae). C. R. Soc. Biol. 161:884-887.
MATTEI, C; X. MATTEI & B. MARCHAND. 1979. Réinvestigation de la structure des flagelles spermatiques: les doublets 1,2, 5 et 6. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 69:371-377.
MATTEI, X.; D. THIAW & O.T. THIAW. 1989. Le spermatozoide de Ophidium sp. (Poisson, Téléostéen): particularités ultratructurales du flagelle. J. Ultrastruct. Mol. Struct. Res. 102 (2):162-169.
NICANDER, L. 1970. Comparatives studies on the fine structure of vertebrate spermatozoa, p.47-56. In: B. BACCETTI (ed.). Comparative Spermatology. New York, Academic Press, 575p.
PASTEELS, J.J. 1965a. La fécondation étudiée au microscope électronique, Étude comparative. Bull. Soc. Zool. France 90:195-224.
______. 1965b. Aspects structuraux de la fécondation vus au microscope életronique. Arch. Biol. Belg. 76:463-509.
POIRIER, G.R. & N. NICHOLSON. 1982. Fine structure of the testicular spermatozoa from the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 80:104-110.
STANLEY, H.P. 1969. An electron microscope study of spermiogenesis in the teleost fish Oligocottus maculosus. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 27: 230-243.
VAN DER HORST, G. & R.H.M. CROSS. 1978. The structure of the spermatozoon of Liza dumerili (Teleostei) with notes on spermiogenesis. Zool. Africana 13 (2):245-258.
VAN DEURS, B. & U. LASTEIN. 1973. Ultrastructure of the spermatozoa of the teleost Pantodon buchholzi Peters, with particular reference to the midpiece. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 42:517-533.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
22 July 2009
Date of issue
1993

History

Received
04 May 1993
Accepted
25 Feb 1994

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

[1] AFZELIUS, B.A. 1978. Fine structure of the garfish spermatozoon. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 64:309-314.

[2] ______. 1981. Electron dense microtubules in the animal sperm tail. J. Submicrosc. Cytol. 13:199-207.

[3] BACCETI, B.; A.G. BURRINI; G. CALLAINI; G. GILBERTINI; M. MAZZINI & S. ZERUNIAN. 1984. Fish germinal cells. I. Comparative spermatology of seven cyprinid species. Gamete Res. 10:373-396.

[4] BRUSLE, S. 9181. Ultrastructure of spermiogenesis in Liza aurata Risso, 1810 (Teleostei-Mugilidae). Cell Tissue Res. 217:415-424.

[5] EIRAS-STOFELLA, D.R. & W. GREMSKI. 1991. Ultrastructural analysis of the mullet Mugil liza and Mugil platanus (Teleostei, Mugilidae) spermatozoa. Micr. Electr. Biol. Cel. 15 (2):173-178.

[6] GINSBURG, A.S. 1968. Fertilization in fishes and the problem of polyspermy. Publishing House "Nauka" 1, 358p.

[7] GRIER, H.J. 1975. Spermiogenesis in the teleost Gambusia affinis with particular reference to the role played by microtubules. Cell. Tiss. Res. 165:89-102.

[8] GRIER, H.J.; J.M. FITZSIMONS & J.R. LINTON. 1978. Structure and ultrastructure of the testis and sperm formation in Goodeid Teleosts. J. Morph. 156:419-438.

[9] MATTEI, X. 1970. Spermiogenèse comparèes des poissons, p.57-69. In: B. B ACCETTI (ed.). Comparative Spermatology. New York, Academic Press, 575p.

[10] ______. 1991. Spermatozoon ultrastructure and its systematic implications in fishes. Can. J. Zool. 69:3038-3055.

[11] MATTEI, C. & X. MATTEI. 1978. La spermiogenese d'un poisson téléostéen (Lepadogaster lepadogaster). II. Le spermatozóide. Biol. Cell. 32:261-21A.

[12] ______. 1984. Spermatozoides biflagellés chez un poisson téléostéen de la famille des Apogonidae. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 88:223-228.

[13] MATTEI, X.; C. MATTEI & C. BOISSON. 1967. L'extrémité flagellaire du spermatozoides de Lebistes reticulatus (Poecillidae). C. R. Soc. Biol. 161:884-887.

[14] MATTEI, C; X. MATTEI & B. MARCHAND. 1979. Réinvestigation de la structure des flagelles spermatiques: les doublets 1,2, 5 et 6. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 69:371-377.

[15] MATTEI, X.; D. THIAW & O.T. THIAW. 1989. Le spermatozoide de Ophidium sp. (Poisson, Téléostéen): particularités ultratructurales du flagelle. J. Ultrastruct. Mol. Struct. Res. 102 (2):162-169.

[16] NICANDER, L. 1970. Comparatives studies on the fine structure of vertebrate spermatozoa, p.47-56. In: B. BACCETTI (ed.). Comparative Spermatology. New York, Academic Press, 575p.

[17] PASTEELS, J.J. 1965a. La fécondation étudiée au microscope électronique, Étude comparative. Bull. Soc. Zool. France 90:195-224.

[18] ______. 1965b. Aspects structuraux de la fécondation vus au microscope életronique. Arch. Biol. Belg. 76:463-509.

[19] POIRIER, G.R. & N. NICHOLSON. 1982. Fine structure of the testicular spermatozoa from the channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 80:104-110.

[20] STANLEY, H.P. 1969. An electron microscope study of spermiogenesis in the teleost fish Oligocottus maculosus. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 27: 230-243.

[21] VAN DER HORST, G. & R.H.M. CROSS. 1978. The structure of the spermatozoon of Liza dumerili (Teleostei) with notes on spermiogenesis. Zool. Africana 13 (2):245-258.

[22] VAN DEURS, B. & U. LASTEIN. 1973. Ultrastructure of the spermatozoa of the teleost Pantodon buchholzi Peters, with particular reference to the midpiece. J. Ultrastruct. Res. 42:517-533.