Skip to main content
PMC home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1970 Jan 1;44(1):29–51. doi: 10.1083/jcb.44.1.29

THE LOCALIZATION OF GLYCOGEN IN THE SPERMATOZOA OF VARIOUS INVERTEBRATE AND VERTEBRATE SPECIES

Winston A Anderson 1, Paul Personne 1
PMCID: PMC2107773  PMID: 5409463

Abstract

With the periodic acid-thiosemicarbazide-silver proteinate procedure for the detection of polysaccharides in thin sections, glycogen is localized in the cavities of centrioles and basal bodies, within the axoneme (and surrounding it), in mitochondria, and in the "packing" cytoplasm of the middle piece of spermatozoa of several invertebrate and vertebrate species. The cytochemical localization of glycogen is verified by extraction with α-amylase solution. These findings establish the existence of stored glycogen in sperm. The polysaccharide presumably serves as an endogenous source of energy in the absence of extracellular metabolites, under either aerobic or anaerobic conditions. Other hypotheses on the physiological significance of intracellular glycogen stores in sperm are discussed. Sperm that store glycogen contain some enzymes of glycogen metabolism. In the presence of glucose-1-phosphate, ATP, and Mg++ ions, an amylophosphorylase catalyzes the in vivo synthesis of glycogen. The newly formed product resembles γ-particles, and is digestible with α-amylase.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (2.4 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Afzelius B. A., Mohri H. Mitochondria respiring without exogenous substrate. A study of aged sea urchin spermatozoa. Exp Cell Res. 1966 Apr;42(1):10–17. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(66)90314-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Anderson W. A. Cytochemistry of sea urchin gametes. I. Intramitochondrial localization of glycogen, glucose-6-phosphatase, and adenosine triphosphatase activity in spermatozoa of Paracentrotus lividus. J Ultrastruct Res. 1968 Sep;24(5):398–411. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(68)80045-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Anderson W. A., Weissman A., Ellis R. A. Cytodifferentiation during spermiogenesis in Lumbricus terrestris. J Cell Biol. 1967 Jan;32(1):11–26. doi: 10.1083/jcb.32.1.11. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. André J. Quelques données récentes sur la structure et la physiologie des mitochondries: glycogène, particules élémentaires, acides nucléiques. Arch Biol (Liege) 1965;76(2):277–304. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. DROCHMANS P. [Morphology of glycogen. Electron microscopic study of the negative stains of particulate glycogen]. J Ultrastruct Res. 1962 Apr;6:141–163. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(62)90050-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. GALL J. G. Centriole replication. A study of spermatogenesis in the snail Viviparus. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1961 Jun;10:163–193. doi: 10.1083/jcb.10.2.163. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. GALTSOFF P. S., PHILPOTT D. E. Ultrastructure of the spermatozoon of the oyster. Crassostrea virginica. J Ultrastruct Res. 1960 Feb;3:241–253. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(60)80012-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. HANKER J. S., SEAMAN A. R., WEISS L. P., UENO H., BERGMAN R. A., SELIGMAN A. M. OSMIOPHILIC REAGENTS: NEW CYTOCHEMICAL PRINCIPLE FOR LIGHT AND ELECTRON MICROSCOPY. Science. 1964 Nov 20;146(3647):1039–1043. doi: 10.1126/science.146.3647.1039. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. HUMPHREY G. F. The metabolism of oyster spermatozoa. Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci. 1950 Jan;28(1):1–13. doi: 10.1038/icb.1950.1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Horstmann E. Die Spermatozoen von Geophilus linearis Koch (Chilopoda) Z Zellforsch Mikrosk Anat. 1968;89(3):410–429. doi: 10.1007/BF00319248. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Lanza B., Quattrini D. Osservazioni sul contenuto in glicogeno degli spermi e degli epiteli della gonade e delle vie sessuali ermafrodite DI Vaginulus borellianus (Colosi) (Mollusca gastropoda soleolifera) Boll Soc Ital Biol Sper. 1964 Oct 15;40(19):1154–1155. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Longo F. J., Dornfeld E. J. The fine structure of spermatid differentiation in the mussel, Mytilus edulis. J Ultrastruct Res. 1967 Oct 31;20(5):462–480. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5320(67)80113-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. MARINOZZI V. Silver impregnation of ultrathin sections for electron microscopy. J Biophys Biochem Cytol. 1961 Jan;9:121–133. doi: 10.1083/jcb.9.1.121. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. MORDOH J., LELOIR L. F., KRISMAN C. R. IN VITRO SYNTHESIS OF PARTICULATE GLYCOGEN. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1965 Jan;53:86–91. doi: 10.1073/pnas.53.1.86. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Personne P., Anderson W. Localisation mitochondriale d'enzymes liees au metabolisme du glycogene dans le spermatozoide de l'escargot. J Cell Biol. 1970 Jan;44(1):20–28. doi: 10.1083/jcb.44.1.20. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Seligman A. M., Hanker J. S., Wasserkrug H., Dmochowski H., Katzoff L. Histochemical demonstration of some oxidized macromolecules with thiocarbohydrazide (tch) or thiosemicarbazide (TSC) and osmium tetroxide. J Histochem Cytochem. 1965 Nov-Dec;13(8):629–639. doi: 10.1177/13.8.629. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. TAKEUCHI T., KURIAKI H. Histochemical detection of phosphorylase in animal tissues. J Histochem Cytochem. 1955 May;3(3):153–160. doi: 10.1177/3.3.153. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. VOELZ H., DWORKIN M. Fine structure of Myxococcus xanthus during morphogenesis. J Bacteriol. 1962 Nov;84:943–952. doi: 10.1128/jb.84.5.943-952.1962. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. von Bonsdorff C. H., Telkkä A. The spermatozoon flagella in Diphyllobothrium latum (fish tapeworm). Z Zellforsch Mikrosk Anat. 1965 Jun 9;66(5):643–648. doi: 10.1007/BF00339248. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES