The spermatozoon of the Carib grackle, Quiscalus lugubris, a member of the family Icteridae, is generally similar in organization to the passerine-type of spermatozoon, in being highly elongated and displaying a helical structure of the acrosome, nucleus and principal piece of the tail. There are subtle variations in acrosomal structural features between this organelle in the grackle and that in some of the very few passerine species of birds in which the spermatozoon has been studied. The proximal centriole is present, and, thus, the Carib grackle is the third passeridan bird in which this organelle, hitherto regarded as absent in passerine birds, has been described in the spermatozoon. The spermatozoon of this bird also possesses a granular helix, which feature has been found variably even in the scanty available reports on passerine spermatozoa. It is advocated that the spermatozoon be studied in many more species of this large clade of birds. This report provides a basis for the study of spermiogenesis in the Carib grackle, with the aim of exposing, inter alia, a number of developmental features and processes of certain organelles that have received attention, recently, in the spermatozoa of passerine birds.
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Spermatid differentiation, with particular reference to acrosomogenesis, in the passeridan bird, Carib grackle (Quiscalus lugubris).
Tissue Cell
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Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Pharmacology, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George's University, True Blue, St. George, West Indies, Grenada.
Only a few studies on the development of the passerine spermatozoon are available, yet species variations in the conformation as well as structure of the generally helical acrosome have been reported. This study of spermiogenesis in the Carib grackle (Quiscalus lugubris) intended to provide a deeper understanding of the development of the sperm, and in particular to investigate the bi-partite nature and development of the acrosome as well as its relationship with the nucleus, in the absence of a perforatorium that is found in most non-passerine birds. The acrosomal vesicle already displays a bi-partite nature in the acrosomal granule within the Golgi complex, and the attachment of the dense granule (future acrosomal core) within the crest part (future acrosomal crest) establishes polarity as it approaches and attaches to the nucleus.
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Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205, avenue Docteur, Montréal, Québec, H3A 1B1, Canada.
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Department of Anatomy, Physiology & Pharmacology, School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George's University, True Blue, St. George's, Grenada.
The spermatozoon of the Carib grackle, Quiscalus lugubris, a member of the family Icteridae, is generally similar in organization to the passerine-type of spermatozoon, in being highly elongated and displaying a helical structure of the acrosome, nucleus and principal piece of the tail. There are subtle variations in acrosomal structural features between this organelle in the grackle and that in some of the very few passerine species of birds in which the spermatozoon has been studied. The proximal centriole is present, and, thus, the Carib grackle is the third passeridan bird in which this organelle, hitherto regarded as absent in passerine birds, has been described in the spermatozoon.
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