An ultrastructural comparison of soft and hardened spermatophores from the crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus Dana (original) (raw)
1983, Canadian Journal of Zoology
DUDENHAUSEN, E. E., and P. TALBOT. 1983. An ultrastructural comparison of soft and hardened spermatophores from the crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus . The spermatophore of the crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus consists of two main parts: a sperm mass composed of sperm embedded in adense fibrillar matrix and an acellular wall which surrounds the sperm mass and is formed from secretions produced in the vas deferens. Following extrusion from the male, the spermatophore wall, which is initially soft and sticky, undergoes a hardening process. In this study, the structure of the spermatophore walls of unextruded (soft) and hardened spermatophores were compared using light and electron microscopy. The wall of the unextruded spermatophore is composed of three concentric layers: a thin primary spermatophore layer which directly surrounds the sperm mass; a thick middle layer composed primarily of electron-dense, spherical granules; and a thick outer layer formed from a dense globular secretion. The primary spermatophore layer and outer globular layer are positive for carbohydrate with the periodic acid -Schiff method. Following extrusion and hardening, the walls of spermatophores showed several structural changes. These are (i) division of the middle granular layer into a compact inner region and a highly reticulated outer region; (ii) the loss of the outer globular layer; and (iii) the formation of a thickened ridge along one side of the spermatophore wall. The thickened ridge is fibrillar in structure and is believed to be derived from a structural modification of the outer globular layer. No structural modifications in the primary spermatophore layer were observed. We interpret these observations to indicate that the outer globular layer functions in attachment of the spermatophore to the female and the middle layer is involved in spermatophore hardening and sperm protection during storage.
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