Light and electron microscopic study on complex carbohydrates in the testis of Salamandra salamandra L. (Amphibia, Urodela).

The distribution of complex carbohydrates was studied in the testis of the European fire salamander, Salamandra salamandra, by light- and electron-microscopic methods. The basal laminae and fibrous structures in the connective tissue between the lobules are PAS-positive. After alcianblue staining (at pH = 2.8), acid mucopolysaccharides could be demonstrated in steroid hormone-producing cells in the interstitial tissue between lobules containing spermatids, spermatozoa, and lobules after spermiation, as well as in most of the Sertoli cells in lobules after spermiation. In all spermatogenic stages from secondary spermatocytes to mature sperms, dictyosome-like structures and flat vesicles showed a distinct contrast enhancement, as did parts of the acrosome after treatment with the phosphotungstic acid-chromic acid method for electron microscopy.