Observations on the Reproductive-Biology and Anatomy of Rhinolophus-Megaphyllus (Chiroptera, Rhinolophidae) in Eastern Australia

1992 ◽  
Vol 40 (5) ◽  
pp. 533 ◽  
Author(s):  
PH Krutzsch ◽  
RA Young ◽  
EG Crichton
Keyword(s):  
Corpus Luteum ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Sperm Storage ◽  
Epididymal Sperm ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Vaginal Plug ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Accessory Sex Organs ◽  
Reproductive Events

The anatomy and chronology of reproductive events in male and female Rhinolophus megaphyllus from eastern Australia (27-32-degrees-S.) is discussed. Rhinolophus megaphyllus was monoestrous and monotocous. A delay of several months occurs between the delivery of spermatozoa to the caudae epididymides (late summer/early autumn) and copulation/ovulation/conception (winter), which occur towards the termination of the spermatogenic cycle. There is no storage of sperm in female tracts prior to ovulation but epididymal sperm storage persists beyond the time of birth (late spring). Male, but not female, readiness to initiate reproduction prior to the onset of winter, places this species in an 'intermediate' position with features of both temperate and tropical chiropteran reproductive cycle patterns. The presence of an extroverted corpus luteum in the female and of a complement of accessory sex organs in the male are normal glandular features for members of this chiropteran family. The role of the urethral gland is unknown; however, since there is no vaginal plug, its products apparently do not coagulate in the vagina in this species following insemination.

scholarly journals Do spermathecal morphology and inter-mating interval influence paternity in the polyandrous beetle Tribolium castaneum?

Behaviour ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 143 (5) ◽  
pp. 643-658 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ludovic Arnaud ◽  
Giorgina Bernasconi ◽  
Yves Brostaux ◽  
Eric P. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Tribolium Castaneum ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Sperm Storage ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Phenotypic Marker ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Different Strains

AbstractIn polyandrous insects, postcopulatory sexual selection is a pervasive evolutionary force favouring male and female traits that allow control of offspring paternity. Males may influence paternity through adaptations for sperm competition, and females through adaptations facilitating cryptic female choice. Yet, the mechanisms are often complex, involving behaviour, physiology or morphology, and they are difficult to identify. In red flour beetles (Tribolium castaneum), paternity varies widely, and evidence suggests that both male and female traits influence the outcome of sperm competition. To test the role of spermathecal morphology and of sperm storage processes on the outcome of sperm competition, we mated each of 26 virgin females with two males, one of which carrying a phenotypic marker to assign offspring paternity. We manipulated the interval between mating with the first and the second male, to create different conditions of sperm storage (overlapping and non-overlapping) in the female reproductive tract. To investigate the role of sperm storage more closely, we examined the relationship between paternity and spermathecal morphology in a subset of 14 experimental females. In addition, we also characterized variation in spermathecal morphology in three different strains, wildtype, Chicago black and Reindeer. No significant influence of the intermating interval was found on the paternity of the focal male, although the direction of the difference was in the expected direction of higher last male paternity for longer intervals. Moreover, paternity was not significantly associated with spermathecal morphology, although spermathecal volume, complexity, and tubule width varied significantly and substantially among individuals in all investigated strains.

The annual reproductive cycle and sperm storage in the bearded dragon, Pogona barbata

2000 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 411 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew P. Amey ◽  
Joan M. Whittier
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Cycle ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Sperm Storage ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
Breeding Period ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Bearded Dragon ◽  
Reproductive Females ◽  
Term Storage

Pogona barbata, a large lizard that inhabits the open woodlands of eastern Australia, has been reported to have a high annual reproductive output, which is contrary to expectations for a large lizard. To better understand this anomaly, its reproductive cycle and morphology were investigated. Males were spermatogenic year round, with only a brief period of regression in January (late summer). Females were vitellogenic and gravid through August–December (spring to early summer). Two or three large clutches (14–26 eggs per clutch) were produced each breeding period. Females had two germinal beds in each ovary, and all four actively produced eggs simultaneously. Clutches overlapped such that the next clutch began vitellogenesis before the first was laid. These characteristics make this species’ reproductive output one of the largest known among lizards. Reproductive females had sperm stored in oviductal crypts, but there was no evidence of sperm storage outside the breeding period. The short-term storage of sperm by breeding females may promote sperm competition between males.

scholarly journals Presence, processing, and localization of mouse ADAM15 during sperm maturation and the role of its disintegrin domain during sperm–egg binding

Reproduction ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 136 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karina Pastén-Hidalgo ◽  
Rosaura Hernández-Rivas ◽  
Ana Lilia Roa-Espitia ◽  
Manuel Sánchez-Gutiérrez ◽  
Francisco Martínez-Pérez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acrosome Reaction ◽  
Sperm Maturation ◽  
Epididymal Sperm ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Antigen Present ◽  
Epididymal Maturation ◽  
Disintegrin Domain ◽  
35 Kda Protein ◽  
Proteolytic Product

Successful fertilization requires gametes to complete several stages, beginning with maturation and transport along the male and female reproductive tracts and ending with the interaction between the sperm and the egg. This last step involves sperm–egg adhesion and membrane fusion. ADAMs (disintegrin and metalloprotease domain proteins) are a family of membrane-anchored glycoproteins that are thought to play diverse roles in cell–cell adhesion through their interaction with integrins. This study analyzes the presence, location, processing, and possible role of ADAM15 in mouse sperm. The presence of ADAM15 in mouse spermatozoa was detected by Western blotting, which revealed that ADAM15 is post-translationally processed, during epididymal sperm maturation and the acrosome reaction. The 35 kDa antigen present in the acrosome-reacted sperm is the last proteolytic product of the 110/75 kDa ADAM15 found in non-capacitated sperm. This 35 kDa protein contains the disintegrin domain. By indirect immunofluorescence, ADAM15 was identified in the acrosomal region and along the flagellum of mouse spermatozoa. In acrosome-reacted sperm, ADAM15 was lost from the acrosomal region, but remained diffusely distributed throughout the head and flagellum. Furthermore, the ADAM15 disintegrin domain (RPPTDDCDLPEF) partially inhibited fusion and almost completely inhibited sperm–oolemma adhesion. In conclusion, our data indicate that ADAM15 is present in the testis and in spermatozoa from the caput, corpus, and cauda epididymis, as well as in non-capacitated and acrosome-reacted gametes. Results also indicate that ADAM15 is processed during epididymal maturation and acrosome reaction and that it may play a role during sperm–egg binding.

scholarly journals Deficiency of co-chaperone immunophilin FKBP52 compromises sperm fertilizing capacity

Reproduction ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiyoung Hong ◽  
Sung Tae Kim ◽  
Susanne Tranguch ◽  
David F Smith ◽  
Sudhansu K Dey
Keyword(s):  
Steroid Hormone ◽  
External Genitalia ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Hormone Action ◽  
Epididymal Sperm ◽  
Expression Studies ◽  
Accessory Sex Organs ◽  
Anterior Prostate ◽  
Background Expression

FKBP52 is a member of the FK506-binding family of immunophilins and serves as a co-chaperone for steroid hormone nuclear receptors to govern appropriate hormone action in target tissues. Male mice missingFkbp52are infertile, and this infertility has been ascribed to compromised sensitivity of the anterior prostate, external genitalia, and other accessory sex organs to androgen. Here, we show additional defects contributing to infertility. We found that epididymalFkbp52−/−sperm are sparse often with aberrant morphology, and they have reduced fertilizing capacity. This phenotype, initially observed in null males on a C57BL/6/129 background, is also maintained on a CD1 background. Expression studies show that while FKBP52 and androgen receptor are co-expressed in similar cell types in the epididymis, FKBP52 is also present in epididymal sperm flagella. Collectively, our results suggest that reduced number and abnormal morphology contribute to compromised fertilizing capacity ofFkbp52−/−sperm. This study is clinically relevant because unraveling the role of immunophilin signaling in male fertility will help identify new targets for male contraceptives and/or alleviate male infertility.

scholarly journals Sexual dimorphic role of the glucocorticoid receptor in chronic muscle pain produced by early-life stress

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 174480692110113
Author(s):  
Paul G Green ◽  
Pedro Alvarez ◽  
Jon D Levine
Keyword(s):  
Glucocorticoid Receptor ◽  
Adult Male ◽  
Life Stress ◽  
Early Life ◽  
Glucocorticoid Receptors ◽  
Early Life Stress ◽  
Nociceptive Threshold ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Mechanical Nociceptive Threshold

Fibromyalgia and other chronic musculoskeletal pain syndromes are associated with stressful early life events, which can produce a persistent dysregulation in the hypothalamic-pituitary adrenal (HPA) stress axis function, associated with elevated plasm levels of corticosterone in adults. To determine the contribution of the HPA axis to persistent muscle hyperalgesia in adult rats that had experienced neonatal limited bedding (NLB), a form of early-life stress, we evaluated the role of glucocorticoid receptors on muscle nociceptors in adult NLB rats. In adult male and female NLB rats, mechanical nociceptive threshold in skeletal muscle was significantly lower than in adult control (neonatal standard bedding) rats. Furthermore, adult males and females that received exogenous corticosterone (via dams’ milk) during postnatal days 2–9, displayed a similar lowered mechanical nociceptive threshold. To test the hypothesis that persistent glucocorticoid receptor signaling in the adult contributes to muscle hyperalgesia in NLB rats, nociceptor expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) was attenuated by spinal intrathecal administration of an oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) antisense to GR mRNA. In adult NLB rats, GR antisense markedly attenuated muscle hyperalgesia in males, but not in females. These findings indicate that increased corticosterone levels during a critical developmental period (postnatal days 2–9) produced by NLB stress induces chronic mechanical hyperalgesia in male and female rats that persists in adulthood, and that this chronic muscle hyperalgesia is mediated, at least in part, by persistent stimulation of glucocorticoid receptors on sensory neurons, in the adult male, but not female rat.

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