Ultraestructura dels espermatozoides de Crassostrea gigas, Mytilus galloprovincialis i Donax trunculus (Mollusca, Bivalvia)

Authors

  • Maria Gràcia Bozzo Duran
  • Montserrat Poquet i Miquel
  • Elena Sagristà i Mateo
  • Mercè Durfort i Coll

Abstract

The majority of bivalve mollusks are gonocoric organisms, and some cases of hermaphroditic individuals have been reported in different groups. When it reaches maturity, the male gonad invades the whole of the mantle cavity and gametes are released into the pallial cavity of the individual. The spermatozoa of bivalve mollusks are of a primitive type, as those of all aquatic organisms with external fertilization. They are cells in which three clearly differentiated parts can be identified: a head, a middle piece and a tail. In all three analyzed species: Crassostrea gigas, Mytilus galloprovincialis and Donax trunculus, the spermatozoa fit within this pattern, but with specific morphological variations related to the characteristics of the oocytes they fertilize. In C. gigas, the sperm head is rounded and between the acrosome and the nucleus stands out the subacrosomal region with fibrillar components of actin. The sperm of M. galloprovincialis is much more elongated and the fibrillar system of the subacrosomal region forms an intranuclear channel. The acrosome is conspicuous because of its length. The sperm of D. trunculus fits with the pattern considered to be primitive, although the middle piece has more mitochondria and the centrioles are arranged in a line instead of being orthogonally oriented as in the other analyzed species.

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Published

2009-04-24