Ultrastructural study of spermiogenesis in the turkey, Meleagris gallopavo

Abstract

1. Ultrastructural changes that take place in the spermatids of the turkey were studied. Twelve steps of spermiogenesis are described.

2. Acrosomal formation is similar to that in the domestic fowl and quail. The perforatorium develops as a dense granule in a tubular invagination of the thickened part of the nuclear membrane during the acrosomal phase of spermatid development.

3. Patchy appearances of the circular (CM) and longitudinal (LM) manchette occur concurrently for a very brief period before the complete disappearance of the former and full establishment of the latter, an indication that the CM reorganises to become the LM.

4. A chromatoid body, as found in mammals, is present in the mid-piece of the turkey spermatid, and glycogen aggregations occur in the spermatid cytoplasm, but not in the mature spermatid or spermatozoon.

5. Mitochondrial alignment around the axoneme in the mid-piece takes place only after the dissolution of the LM, unlike in the Japanese quail.

6. The merits and disadvantages of the 4-phase and step-wise systems of spermatid classification and evaluation are discussed.

Acknowledgement

A research grant by the University of Pretoria aided this study.