Morphological differences in tardigrade spermatozoa induce variation in gamete motility.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Fertilization is an event at the beginning of ontogeny. Successful fertilization depends on strategies for uniting female and male gametes that developed throughout evolutionary history. In some species of tardigrades, investigations of reproduction have revealed that released spermatozoa swim in the water to reach a female, after which the gametes are stored in her body. The morphology of the spermatozoa includes a coiled nucleus and a species-specific-length acrosome. Although the mating behaviour and morphology of tardigrades have been reported, the motility of male gametes remains unknown. Here, using a high-speed camera, we recorded the spermatozoon motilities of two tardigrades, Paramacrobiotus sp. and Macrobiotus shonaicus, which have longer and shorter spermatozo

SUBMITTER: Sugiura K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10127009 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature