• Animal cells and systems
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.227-234
• /
• 2007

Spermatogenesis, the reproductive cycle, and the size at first sexual maturity in male Mactra chinensis were investigated by cytological and histological observations. The spermatozoon exhibits a primitive type morphology and is similar to those of other bivalves in that it contains a short midpiece with four mitochondria surrounding the centrioles. The morphologies of the sperm nucleus type and the acrosome shape of this species are cylindrical and modified cap-like, respectively. The spermatozoon is approximately $40-45\;{\mu}m$ in length including the sperm nucleus (about $1.46\;{\mu}m$), acrosome (about $1.20\;{\mu}m$) and tail flagellum. The axoneme of the sperm tail flagellum consists of nine pairs of microtubules at the periphery and a pair at the center. The axoneme of the sperm tail shows a 9+2 structure. The spawning period of this species lasts from June to September, and the main spawning occurs in July and August, when the seawater temperature is greater than $20^{\circ}C$. The percentage of individual male clams at first sexual maturity was 56.5% for those whose shell lengths were 35.1-40.0 mm, and 100% for over 45.1 mm. Accordingly, harvesting clams <35.1 mm in shell length could potentially cause a drastic reduction in recruitment, and a measure indicating a prohibitory fishing size should be taken for adequate fisheries management.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.347-354
• /
• 2006

Spermiogenesis in the Zacco koreanus is characterized by lateral development of flagellum, shallow nuclear fossa formation and with no nuclear rotation. These spermatozoa exhibit a spherical head containing a nucleus with the chromatin highly condensed and no acrosome. The midpiece is a small and a short cytoplasmic canal. Mitochondria are separated from the initial segement of the axoneme by cytoplasmic canal. The flagellum contains the classic axoneme structure (9+2) and has a vesicle in the initial region; it dose not have axonemal fins. The presence of a vesicle in the initial region of flagella, a structure common in many Cypriniformes spermatozoa.

• Applied Microscopy
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.253-259
• /
• 2010

The ultrastructure of sperms in testes of the pond smelt (Hypomesus nipponensis) was investigated using electron microscopes. The whitish testis was located between swim bladder and intestine. Especially, the left testis was larger than the right testis. The sperm was approximately $26\;{\mu}m$ in length. The sperm had an oval head and the acrosome was not found. The nucleus was about 400 nm in diameter and chromatin was incompletely condensed. The nuclear fossa deeply formed in sperm head and two centrioles were located in the fossa. The mitochondrium was observed only one in midpiece of the sperm and a motile flagellum consisted of an axoneme with a typical 9+2 pattern of microtubule. Also, the tail of the sperm has axonemal fins.

• Journal of Species Research
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.448-454
• /
• 2020

Nine free-living heterotrophic flagellates were cultured from marine intertidal sediments and freshwater sediments from Korea. These species are described with uninterpreted records based on light microscopy of living cells and reported taxonomically for the first time from Korea. Diagnostics of these species are as follows; Notosolenus hemicircularis: 9-11.8 ㎛ long with flagellar reservoir, ventrally flattened and dorsally convex with hyaline semicircular collar around short anterior neck, and 8 ridges on cell surface. Thecamonas tranhens: 4.5-7.1 ㎛ long, plastic with proboscis comprising an anterior flagellum surrounded by membranous sleeve. Bodomorpha minima: 4.5-7.0 ㎛ long, rigid with small rostrum in anterior end and active anterior flagellum. Cercomonas hiberna: 5.6-10.9 ㎛ long, very plastic with pseudopodia, cytoplasmic strand and 1 or 2 contractile vacuoles. Cercomonas pellucida: 7.5-13 ㎛ long, plastic with pseudopodia, cytoplasmic strand and single contractile vacuole. With nucleus closely connected to basal bodies. Eocercomonas echina: 4.7-6.5 ㎛ long, plastic with pseudopodia, cytoplasmic strand and 1 or 2 contractile vacuoles. Paracercomonas astra: 5.7-7.3 ㎛ long, moderately metabolic with pseudopodia, cytoplasmic strand and 1 or 2 contractile vacuoles. Paracercomonas minima: 5-9 ㎛ long, metabolic with pseudopodia, cytoplasmic strand and single contractile vacuole. Paracercomonas producta: 6.1-9.9 ㎛ long, very metabolic with pseudopodia, long cytoplasmic strand and single contractile vacuole.

• Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.9 no.1
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2006

Mature spermatozoa of dark chub Zacco temmincki (Temminck and Schlegel), were examined under a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a transmission electron microscope (TEM). The spermatozoa have a spherical, homogeneously electron-dense nucleus with an axial nuclear fossa containing two laterally oriented centrioles. The centrioles, which are arranged at about a $120^{\circ}$ angle to each other, have the 9+2 microtubule structure typical of flagella. The mature spermatozoon is of the primitive anacrosomal aquasperm type. The nuclear envelope is strongly undulated and contains nuclear vacuoles of different sizes and positions. The midpiece contains six or more mitochondria and encircles the basal body of the flagellum with an axoneme covered by the plasma membrane. Cytoplasmic vesicles lie between the axonemal doublets and the plasma membrane, and encircle the anterior part of the tail. The plasma membrane of the flagellum extends laterally and forms a pair of side fins. The species showed minor differences in number and structure of mitochondria, the angle between centrioles, and total length and occurrence of the fins. These characters, especially the side fins, appear to be apomorphic and useful for determining phylogenetic relationships at the genus or family level.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.115-124
• /
• 2006

Gonad index, spermatogenesis and the reproductive cycle of Meretrix petechialis were investigated by cytological, histological observations. Monthly changes in the gonad index coincides the gonadal development. The morphology of the spermatozoon had a primitive type and is similar to that of other bivalves having a short mid-piece with five to six mitochondria surrounding the centrioles. The morphology of the sperm nucleus type and the acrosome shape of this species were cylindrical type and cap-like shape, respectively. The spermatozoon was approximately 40-45 ${\mu}m$ in length including the sperm nucleus length (about 1.50 ${\mu}m$), acrosome length (0.60 ${\mu}m$) and tail flagellum. The axoneme of the tail flagellum consisted of nine pairs of microtubules at the periphery and a pair at the center. The axoneme of the sperm tail showed 9 + 2 microtubular arrangement. The spawning period was from June to September and the main spawning occurred from July to August when seawater temperatures were higher than $20^{\circ}C$. The reproductive cycle of this species could be categorized into five successive stages: early active stage (February to March), late active stage (February to May), ripe stage (April to July), partially spawned stage (June to September), and spent/inactive stage (September to February).

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.281-286
• /
• 2004

Spermatogenesis and sperm ultrastructure of the marsh clam (Corbicula japonica) were investigated by electron microscopic observations. Testis of the marsh clam consists of numerous spermatogenic follicle containing germ cells in the different developmental stages. Spermatogonia are located nearest the outer wall of the follicle, while spermtocytes and spermatids are positioned nearer to the lumen. Spematogonia are oval-shaped and about $5{\mu}m$ In diameter. Spermatogonia develop into spermatocyte, spermatid and spermatozoon. In the spermatid to about $2{\mu}m$ in diameter, cytoplasm decreases and mitochondria move to the base of the nucleus and fuse into several spheres, the centrioles become orthogonally oriented, a flagellum appears, and an acrosomal vesicle forms. The mature sperm has primitive type, consisting of a head, a midpiece and a tail. The sperm was arrow-shaped, and its head is about $8{\mu}m$ long and comprised of a long nucleus and an acrosome. The four mitochondria encircled the centrosome in midpiece. The flagellum had the classical 9+2 axoneme structure, and axonemal lateral fins in the tail were observed.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
• /
• v.61 no.3
• /
• pp.25.1-25.7
• /
• 2021

The axolotl has extraordinary regeneration capacity compared to other vertebrates. This remarkable potential has been attributed to its life-long neoteny, characterized by the exhibition of embryonic characteristics at the adult stage. A recent study provided a detailed morphological analysis of the sperm morphology of the Ambystoma mexicanum using routine and detailed histological techniques. The primary purpose of the present study is to describe a simple and inexpensive method for evaluating the morphology of axolotl sperm. In this study, spermatophore structures were collected and spread on slides and air-dried. The slides were stained with periodic acid Schiff, toluidine blue, Masson's trichrome, Giemsa, Spermac, and Diff-Quik dye for a morphological examination. The slides were coated with gold/palladium for a scanning electron microscopy examination. The sperm of the axolotl consisted of an elongated head, a neck, and a flagellum covered with an undulating membrane. The lengths of the midpiece, tail, and head were 8.575 ㎛, 356.544 ㎛, and 103.661 ㎛, respectively. In the flagellum part, the wavy membrane structure, whose function has not been explained, surrounds the tail. The data obtained from this study will constitute an important step in designing future research on the reproductive and regeneration capacity of the axolotl.

• Korean Journal of Ichthyology
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2019

The spermatozoa of Hemiculter eigenmanni is similar to other cyprinid by spherical head containing a nucleus with highly condensed chromatin, a short midpiece with mitochondria and a flagellum located tangentially to the head. The fine structure of cyprinid spermatozoa described classical characteristics of Cyprinidae spermatozoon comprising the absent of acrosome, the shallow nucleal fossa, postnuclear distribution of mitochondria and the lateral insertion of flagellum. However there were some structural differences for their morphology, in the mitochondria and the orientation of centrioles. The proxomal and distal centrioles are oriented approximately $145^{\circ}$ to each other. The mitochondria of 8 or 10 in number are arranged in two or three layers.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.65-71
• /
• 2012

Protozoan parasites belonging to the genus Perkinsus elicit severe inflammatory responses and are associated with mass mortality of commercially important marine shellfish worldwide. In the present study, we examined the external features of P. olseni zoospores in detail using light and scanning electron microscopy. Our study showed that the zoospores have an oval body with a long anterior flagellum and a short posterior flagellum. The anterior flagellum has a unilateral array of mastigonemes. Mean body dimensions were $3.37{\pm}0.33{\mu}m{\times}1.72{\pm}0.22{\mu}m$. The average length of the anterior and posterior flagella was $16.34{\pm}1.52{\mu}m$ and $8.25{\pm}1.39{\mu}m$, respectively. Zoospores of P. olseni found in Korean waters have shorter and narrower bodies, longer anterior flagella, and shorter posterior flagella than zoospores of Perkinsus spp. found in the mollusks of North America and Europe.