Spermatogenesis of melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides (Hymenoptera: Apidae): Fate of the atypical spermatids

Abstract

— Several authors studied the unequal distribution of cytoplasmic content which at the end of meiosis results in one of the spermatids having practically no cytoplasm. However, there is no clear consensus in relation to the fate of this smaller cell. Both light and electron microscopy of early round spermatids confirmed the presence of small cells with only a thin layer of cytoplasm around the nucleus. Routine preparations for electron microscopy showed degenerating nuclei within enlarged cystic cells, which have also been identified by the E-PTA method for basic protein. In later stages, a homogeneous population of spermatids is found in the cysts, suggesting that the small cells have been removed at an earlier stage and do not develop into mature spermatozoa. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.