Ultrastructure of the Spermatogenic Process in the PenshellAtrina maura(Bivalvia: Pinnidae)

Abstract

The ultrastructural features of the spermatogenic development and mature spermatozoa morphology of Atrina maura were investigated through transmission electron microscopy. The testis displays a diffuse tubular structure in which gametes develop within a concentric arrangement according to the degree of development. Within the tubules also appear Sertoli cells, which contain a large amount of lipid droplets and glycogen granules in the cytoplasm, suggesting a nutritive role in the first spermatogenesis stage (spermatogonia). Four gamete maturation stages co-occurred in the same individual: spermatogonia (4–8 μm), spermatocytes (3–4 μm) (including primary and secondary), spermatids (2.5 μm) and spermatozoa (∼ 2 μm head length). The proacrosomal vesicle and flagellum occur only until the first stages of spermiogenesis, contrasting with the early formation of both structures in spermatogonia and spermatocytes in other bivalves. In A. maura, the material in the acrosomal vesicle of mature spermatozoa shows a characteristic electron density pattern, which seems to be an exclusive taxonomic feature of the family Pinnidae. However, A. maura displayed only four mitochondria in the midpiece, contrasting with five in all other species in this family.