Osanai Minoru, Kasuga Hiroko, Aigaki Toshiro
Department of Biology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, 35-2 Sakaecho, Itabashiku, 173 Tokyo, Japan.
J Morphol. 1987 Jul;193(1):1-11. doi: 10.1002/jmor.1051930102.
The bursa copulatrix of the silkmoth is filled with various secretions and seminal fluid transferred from the male reproductive system during mating. The contents of the bursa include a pearly body, spermatophragma, and spermatophore. The latter consists of a four-layered wall, an inner and outer matrix, and a soft plug. The components of the spermatophore are all heterogeneous, since they are formed by the partially mixed, viscous streams of the male secretions. Apyrene spermatozoa and eupyrene bundles are present only in the inner matrix, but both the matrices are important sites of sperm maturation. After spermatophore formation, the basophilic regions and periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-granules in both matrices gradually decrease with time. The PAS-granules were identified as glycogen by α-amylase treatment. The inner matrix containing sperm and the outer matrix decrease in volume and become concentrated near the neck of the spermatophore. Apyrene and eupyrene spermatozoa can move toward the ductus seminalis after their maturation. A large, beltlike space which does not stain remains at the periphery of the spermatophore. These structural changes of spermatophore contents seem to reflect metabolic reactions in the spermatophore as the reactor for sperm maturation.
蚕蛾的交配囊在交配期间充满了从雄性生殖系统转移过来的各种分泌物和精液。交配囊的内容物包括一个珍珠体、精包膈和精包。后者由四层壁、一个内基质和一个外基质以及一个软塞组成。精包的成分都是异质的，因为它们是由雄性分泌物部分混合的粘性流形成的。无核精子和有核精子束仅存在于内基质中，但两个基质都是精子成熟的重要部位。精包形成后，两个基质中的嗜碱性区域和过碘酸希夫（PAS）颗粒随时间逐渐减少。通过α-淀粉酶处理，PAS颗粒被鉴定为糖原。含有精子的内基质和外基质体积减小，并在精包颈部附近浓缩。无核和有核精子成熟后可向输精管移动。精包周围仍有一个不染的大的带状空间。精包内容物的这些结构变化似乎反映了作为精子成熟反应器的精包中的代谢反应。
