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Zoological Research
Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
ISSN: 2095-8137
Vol. 33, No. 1, 2012, pp. 29-36
Bioline Code: zr12005
Full paper language: English
Document type: Research Article
Document available free of charge

Zoological Research, Vol. 33, No. 1, 2012, pp. 29-36

 en Morphological characteristics and cryodamage of Chinese tree shrew ( Tupaia belangeri chinensis check for this species in other resources ) sperm
ZHANG Yuan-Xu; PING Shu-Huang & YANG Shi-Hua

Abstract

The tree shrew ( Tupaia belangeri chinensis check for this species in other resources ) is a small non-rodent mammal, which is a relatively new experimental animal in medicine due to its close evolutionary relationship to primates and its rapid propagation. Sperm characteristics and cryopreservation in the tree shrew were the main contents of our spermatological research. Epididymal sperm were surgically harvested from male tree shrews captured from the Kunming area. The rate of testis weight to body weight was (1.05±0.07)%, volume of both testis was (1.12±0.10) mL, total sperm from epididymis and vas deferens were 2.2−8.8×107, and sperm motility and acrosome integrity were (68.8±3.9)% and (90.0±2.1)%, respectively. Sperm ultrastructure of the tree shrew was examined by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Tree shrew sperm had a round or oval shaped head of approximately 6.65×5.82 μm, and midpiece, principal piece, tail, and total sperm lengths were 13.39, 52.35, 65.74, and 73.05 μm, respectively. The mitochondria in the midpiece consisted of approximately 48 gyres and had a 9+9+2 axonemal pattern. After freezing and thawing, sperm showed partly intact acrosomes and plasma membrane defects, and sperm breakages, twists, and swellings were found. The tree shrew had similar ultrastructure with other mammalians except for the mitochondria number and the sperm size. Ultrastructural alteration is still the main cause resulting in poor sperm after cryopreservation.

Keywords
Tree shrew; Testis; Sperm; Morphological structure; Cryo-damage

 
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