| First Author | Hugenholtz AP | Year | 1984 |
| Journal | Mouse News Lett | Volume | 71 |
| Pages | 35 | Mgi Jnum | J:13990 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:62168 | Citation | Hugenholtz AP (1984) Abnormal spermatazoon head shape. Mouse News Lett 71:35 |
| abstractText | Full text of MNL contribution: Research News: Finally, we report on an autosomal recessive mutation which affects sperm morphology, while not affecting fertility appreciably, which we would like to offer to anyone interested in fertility, chromatin condensation and oligospermia: 3) This mutation probably arose spontaneously during the radiation experiments. We have designated the mutation azh (abnormal spermatozoon head shape). All of the sperm are affected, having a characteristic ladle shape, and up t o 40% of the sperm heads may be severed from their flagella. Most striking, however, is that most azh males can breed, and litter sizes are either not reduced, or are reduced to more than half of those of their unaffected litter mates. The karyotype appears to be normal. The mutation first becomes evident, ultrastructurally, at about stage VIII of spermiogenesis, prior to histone replacement. Sperm head packaging of the chromatin appears affected, and acrosomal and flagellar development may also be affected. The mutation suggests that abnormally shaped sperm can fertilize in vivo, and that aberrant chromatin packaging in spermiogenesis does not preclude sperm function and transmission of genetic material. (Manuscript in preparation). As we can no longer maintain this mutation, and as we have established some azh/azh breeding pairs, so that hemicastration is not necessarily needed for screening for the presence of the mutation, we would like to offer it to anyone interested. (Hugenholtz) |
