The aim of this study was to compare the sperm nuclear and acrosomal morphometry of three species of domestic artiodactyls; cattle （Bos taurus）, sheep （Ovis aries）, and pigs （Sus scrofa）. Semen smears of twenty ...The aim of this study was to compare the sperm nuclear and acrosomal morphometry of three species of domestic artiodactyls; cattle （Bos taurus）, sheep （Ovis aries）, and pigs （Sus scrofa）. Semen smears of twenty ejaculates from each species were fixed and labeled with a propidium iodide-Pisum sativum agglutinin （PI/PSA） combination. Digital images of the sperm nucleus, acrosome, and whole sperm head were captured and analyzed. The use of the PI/PSA combination and CASA-Morph fluorescence-based method allowed the capture, morphometric analysis, and differentiation of most sperm nuclei, acrosomes and whole heads, and the assessment of acrosomal integrity with a high precision in the three species studied. For the size of the head and nuclear area, the relationship between the three species may be summarized as bull 〉 ram 〉 boar. However, for the other morphometric parameters （length, width, and perimeter）, there were differences in the relationships between species for sperm nuclei and whole sperm heads. Bull sperm acrosomes were clearly smaller than those in the other species studied and covered a smaller proportion of the sperm head. The acrosomal morphology, small in the bull, large and broad in the sheep, and large, long, and with a pronounced equatorial segment curve in the boar, was species-characteristic. It was concluded that there are clear variations in the size and shape of the sperm head components between the three species studied, the acrosome being the structure showing the most variability, allowing a clear distinction of the spermatozoa of each species.展开更多
The southern of the Iberian Peninsula preserves a diverse ichnological record of vertebrates from the late Neogene-Quaternary.While the ages of several tracksites,such as those from the Miocene-Pliocene transition and...The southern of the Iberian Peninsula preserves a diverse ichnological record of vertebrates from the late Neogene-Quaternary.While the ages of several tracksites,such as those from the Miocene-Pliocene transition and the middle-late Pleistocene,are well-established,others remain undated or have unknown ages.This paper reports the discovery of the southernmost tracksite in the Iberian Peninsula and continental Europe on the Island of Tarifa(C adiz).The tracksite contains over 600 vertebrate footprints from the early Pleistocene that are grouped in four morphotypes.Morphotypes 1,2 and 3(M1,M2 and M3)are predominantly didactyl-shaped,rounded to ovoid and elongated,and associated with tracks left by artiodactyls.Morphotype4(M4),suboval to subcircular in outline,is the largest and is probably related to the imprint left by proboscideans.We also document the progressive transition from morphotype 2 with isolated,rounded footprints to morphotype 3 with elongated tracks formed by overlapping two tracks of the same animal which is observed.The consistency of the substrate,together with the trackmaker limb dynamics,conditioned the final morphology of the tracks,which were produced in a very soft clay-rich substrate of late Oligocene,that was folded and tilted in the latest Pliocene.This relief configuration gave rise to a narrow,partially or totally flooded corridor through which the trackmaker animals passed continuously,simultaneously,and in opposite ways.This discovery from the southernmost tip of continental Europe is the first one from the early Pleistocene in the Iberian Peninsula and a rare example from the Mediterranean region.展开更多
文摘The aim of this study was to compare the sperm nuclear and acrosomal morphometry of three species of domestic artiodactyls; cattle （Bos taurus）, sheep （Ovis aries）, and pigs （Sus scrofa）. Semen smears of twenty ejaculates from each species were fixed and labeled with a propidium iodide-Pisum sativum agglutinin （PI/PSA） combination. Digital images of the sperm nucleus, acrosome, and whole sperm head were captured and analyzed. The use of the PI/PSA combination and CASA-Morph fluorescence-based method allowed the capture, morphometric analysis, and differentiation of most sperm nuclei, acrosomes and whole heads, and the assessment of acrosomal integrity with a high precision in the three species studied. For the size of the head and nuclear area, the relationship between the three species may be summarized as bull 〉 ram 〉 boar. However, for the other morphometric parameters （length, width, and perimeter）, there were differences in the relationships between species for sperm nuclei and whole sperm heads. Bull sperm acrosomes were clearly smaller than those in the other species studied and covered a smaller proportion of the sperm head. The acrosomal morphology, small in the bull, large and broad in the sheep, and large, long, and with a pronounced equatorial segment curve in the boar, was species-characteristic. It was concluded that there are clear variations in the size and shape of the sperm head components between the three species studied, the acrosome being the structure showing the most variability, allowing a clear distinction of the spermatozoa of each species.
基金supported by the R+D+i Project PCM-00096,the Project PID2019-104625RB-100funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033+1 种基金the grants to the Research Group RNM276(Junta de Andalucía)the CCTH from University of Huelva。
文摘The southern of the Iberian Peninsula preserves a diverse ichnological record of vertebrates from the late Neogene-Quaternary.While the ages of several tracksites,such as those from the Miocene-Pliocene transition and the middle-late Pleistocene,are well-established,others remain undated or have unknown ages.This paper reports the discovery of the southernmost tracksite in the Iberian Peninsula and continental Europe on the Island of Tarifa(C adiz).The tracksite contains over 600 vertebrate footprints from the early Pleistocene that are grouped in four morphotypes.Morphotypes 1,2 and 3(M1,M2 and M3)are predominantly didactyl-shaped,rounded to ovoid and elongated,and associated with tracks left by artiodactyls.Morphotype4(M4),suboval to subcircular in outline,is the largest and is probably related to the imprint left by proboscideans.We also document the progressive transition from morphotype 2 with isolated,rounded footprints to morphotype 3 with elongated tracks formed by overlapping two tracks of the same animal which is observed.The consistency of the substrate,together with the trackmaker limb dynamics,conditioned the final morphology of the tracks,which were produced in a very soft clay-rich substrate of late Oligocene,that was folded and tilted in the latest Pliocene.This relief configuration gave rise to a narrow,partially or totally flooded corridor through which the trackmaker animals passed continuously,simultaneously,and in opposite ways.This discovery from the southernmost tip of continental Europe is the first one from the early Pleistocene in the Iberian Peninsula and a rare example from the Mediterranean region.
