Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/2440/43434
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Type: Journal article
Title: Sperm morphology of the Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber: An example of a species of rodent with highly derived and pleiomorphic sperm populations
Author: Bierla, J.
Gizejewski, Z.
Leigh, C.
Costin, J.
Soderquist, L.
Rodriguez-Martinez, H.
Zalewski, K.
Breed, W.
Citation: Journal of Morphology, 2007; 268(8):683-689
Publisher: Wiley-Liss
Issue Date: 2007
ISSN: 0362-2525
1097-4687
Statement of
Responsibility: 
Joanna B. Bierla, Zygmunt Gizejewski, Christopher M. Leigh, Hans Ekwall, Lennart Söderquist, Heriberto Rodriguez-Martinez, Kazimierz Zalewski, and William G. Breed
Abstract: The structural organization of the spermatozoon from the Eurasian beaver, Castor fiber (Family: Castoridae), was determined and compared to that of other sciuromorph rodents. The beaver spermatozoon has a head, which is variable in form but usually paddle-shaped, with a small nucleus and very large acrosome, and a tail that is relatively short compared to that of most other rodents. Transmission electron microscopy indicates that in most testicular spermatozoa the acrosome projects apically, although in a few it becomes partly flexed. During the final stages of maturation, however, the acrosome becomes highly folded so that the apical segment comes to lie alongside part of the acrosome that occurs lateral to the nucleus, with, in some cases, fusion taking place between the outer acrosomal membranes. The sperm nucleus is wedge-shaped, being broader basally and narrowing apically with an occasional large nuclear vacuole occurring. This spermatozoon structure is markedly different from that found in the other species of Geomyoidea, which is the sister group of the Castoridae. The findings thus emphasize the highly divergent nature of the beaver spermatozoon and demonstrate that, within the proposed Infraorder Castorimorpha, very large differences in sperm structure have evolved.
Keywords: Sperm Head
Sperm Tail
Animals
Rodentia
Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
Microscopy, Electron, Transmission
Species Specificity
Asia
Europe
Male
Biological Evolution
Description: Published in Journal of Morphology, 2007; 268 (8):683-689 at www.interscience.wiley.com
DOI: 10.1002/jmor.10544
Published version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jmor.10544
Appears in Collections:Anatomical Sciences publications
Aurora harvest 6
Environment Institute publications

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