Author
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Bakst, Murray |
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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 5/27/2015 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Unlike most mammals, birds do not need to synchronize copulation with ovulation. Hens are endowed with tubular structures, the sperm-storage tubules (SST), in their oviducts which the sperm enter and survive for weeks after mating or artificial insemination. Sperm are slowly but continually released from the SSTs and ascend the oviduct to fertilize a succession of ova. Little is known regarding the biological mechanisms responsible for sperm subsistence in the lumen of the SST. Using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) the relationship between turkey sperm residing in the hen’s SST and the surface short projections (microvilli) of the cells lining the SSTs was examined. TEM revealed that the tip of most of the microvilli lining the lumen of the SST formed small round blebs. Furthermore, small, membrane bound vesicles, most likely derived from the blebbing of the microvilli, were observed free in the SST as well as fusing with the surface of resident sperm. We hypothesize that the blebbing represents a form of cell secretion that provides fatty acids and cholesterol via the small membrane bound vesicles for sperm sustenance and maintenance during storage. This information will be useful to other scientist investigating sperm function and sustained fertility in poultry. |
