The formation and function of the extraacrosomal layer and modification of the plasma membrane in spermiogenesis of Acrida lata motschulsky (Orthoptera)

Abstract

Receptor-specific proteins are now being widely and usefully applied to the study of cell-surface topography. We have been actively interested in this field from the standpoint of spermiogenesis of the grasshopper. The surface of developing spermatids is in contact with other cells or with their environment, and in addition to carrying on metabolic processes necessary for maturation they must also exhibit the specificity that distinguishes cells from the same cell types from different individuales. The cell bodies of the grasshopper, Acrida lata Motschulsky, spermatids are spherical in the early stage of metamorphosis, but later they become conical and more and more elongate until they are long slender rods, rounded at the base and tapering at the tip to a sharp point. Concurrently with these changes in the spermatid cell bodies, the remarkable trans formation occurs in the fine structure of the cell-surface. In the early stage of maturation of spermatids, the cell-surface is smooth and consists of the unit membrane structure.