Thurston R J, Hess R A
Poultry Science Department, College of Agricultural Sciences, Clemson University, SC 29634-0379.
Scanning Microsc. 1987 Dec;1(4):1829-38.
Typical for non-passerine birds, the spermatozoa of the turkey, chicken and guinea fowl were vermiform with a maximum width of 0.5-0.7 micron and lengths of 90 microns for chicken sperm, and 75-80 microns for those of the turkey and guinea. An acrosome, nucleus, midpiece and flagellum could be distinguished by SEM. The acrosomal cap projected over a perforatorium surrounded by granular material. At its base, the cap encircled apical projections of the nucleus. The nucleus consisted of dense chromatin, and formed a concave implantation fossa where it joined the midpiece of the tail. For turkey and chicken spermatozoa, the neck region of the midpiece consisted of a proximal centriole and its pericentriolar processes oriented perpendicularly to an elongated distal centriole, but guinea sperm contained only a single elongated centriole and associated pericentriolar projections. The centrioles plus their projections to the implantation fossa constituted the non-striated connecting piece. The distal centriole served as the precursor of the flagellum and was longest for turkey sperm. Enveloping the distal centriole and extending to the annulus were 25-30 helically arranged mitochondria. Flagellum ultrastructure consisted of the typical 9 + 2 microtubular axonemal complex but outer dense fibers were absent. A hypertonic diluent immobilized the sperm, condensing the flagellar matrix and obliterating the radial links. Variations in ultrastructure of the above structures between sperm of the three species is discussed and compared with sperm ultrastructure from other non-passerine birds.
火鸡、鸡和珍珠鸡的精子呈蠕虫状，这是非雀形目鸟类精子的典型特征，其最大宽度为0.5 - 0.7微米，鸡精子长度为90微米，火鸡和珍珠鸡精子长度为75 - 80微米。通过扫描电子显微镜可以区分出顶体、细胞核、中段和鞭毛。顶体帽突出于由颗粒物质包围的穿孔器上方。在其基部，顶体帽环绕着细胞核的顶端突起。细胞核由致密的染色质组成，并形成一个凹陷的植入窝，在此处与尾部的中段相连。对于火鸡和鸡精子而言，中段的颈部区域由一个近端中心粒及其垂直于细长的远端中心粒排列的中心粒周围物质组成，但珍珠鸡精子仅含有一个细长的中心粒和相关的中心粒周围突起。中心粒及其向植入窝的突起构成了无横纹的连接段。远端中心粒是鞭毛的前身，火鸡精子的远端中心粒最长。25 - 30个螺旋排列的线粒体包裹着远端中心粒并延伸至环。鞭毛超微结构由典型的9 + 2微管轴丝复合体组成，但没有外致密纤维。高渗稀释剂可使精子固定，浓缩鞭毛基质并消除放射状连接。文中讨论了这三种物种精子上述结构超微结构的差异，并与其他非雀形目鸟类的精子超微结构进行了比较。
