Figure 3.
Styx-deficient males are infertile and exhibit a disruption of normal spermatid differentiation. (A) Homozygous Styx−/− and StyxC/C male mice are not fertile. Mouse strains are either C57BL/6 (BL/6) or 129/SvIMJ × BL/6 (129). An asterisk denotes the 129/SvJ strain. Individual males (parentheses) were mated to age-matched fertile females for 2 weeks before separation and scoring for fertility. (B–D) Cross sections of stage XII seminiferous tubules from wild-type (B), Styx−/− (C), and StyxC/C (D) mice. Spermatocytes containing meiotic bodies are indicated (arrowheads). Representative spermatids exhibiting aberrant distribution, shape, and size are shown (asterisks). (Scale bar, 50 μm.)