Burnett William E, Heinze Jürgen
Bitterroot Environmental Services Co., Hamilton, Montana, United States of America.
Biologie I, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
PLoS One. 2014 Mar 26;9(3):e93383. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093383. eCollection 2014.
In many insects, sperm cells are produced in bundles with their heads being held together by a glycoprotein matrix secreted by a cyst cell. Mature sperm cells in the seminal vesicles are usually free, but in sawflies and several other insects, such structures (spermatodesmata) remain intact and sperm cells may be ejaculated as bundles. Here we report the occurrence of spermatodesmata in mature males of the ant Lasius pallitarsis. Microscopic investigations of the abdominal contents of males immediately prior to their nuptial flights showed that the anterior ends of numerous sperm cells were embedded in an oval-shaped 20 by 30 micrometer extracellular fibrous cap. Individual sperm ranged in length from 55 to 75 micrometers with an average overall length of 65 micrometers. The bulb-shaped heads of the sperm were relatively small, only about 1.5 micrometers in length and about 1.1 micrometers in diameter. The diameter of the sperm tails was approximately 1 micrometer. Observations of live preparations of the spermatodesmata showed increasingly active undulating wave-like movement of the sperm tails as the slide preparations aged. This appears to be the first case of sperm bundles being present in the seminal vesicles of mature ant males--males that are immediately poised to complete their nuptial mating flight.
在许多昆虫中，精子细胞成束产生，其头部由囊细胞分泌的糖蛋白基质聚集在一起。精囊中成熟的精子细胞通常是游离的，但在叶蜂和其他几种昆虫中，这种结构（精子连丝）保持完整，精子细胞可能会成束射出。在此，我们报告在淡足拉斯蚁成熟雄蚁中存在精子连丝。对即将婚飞的雄蚁腹部内容物进行显微镜检查发现，许多精子细胞的前端嵌入一个椭圆形的、20×30微米的细胞外纤维帽中。单个精子长度在55至75微米之间，平均总长度为65微米。精子的球形头部相对较小，长度约为1.5微米，直径约为1.1微米。精子尾部直径约为1微米。对精子连丝活体制片的观察表明，随着玻片标本老化，精子尾部的波动状运动越来越活跃。这似乎是成熟雄蚁精囊中存在精子束的首例——这些雄蚁即将完成婚飞交配。
