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The fine structure of the mature spermatozoon of the insect Thermobia domestica has been investigated. This flagellate spermatozoon is unique with respect to the relative positions of the centriole, nucleus, mitochondrial nebenkern derivatives, and acrosome along the length of the cell. The acrosome lies at the posterior end of the nucleus. Unlike spermatozoa of most animals, the Thermobia spermatozoon has a nucleus that reveals an unusual lamellar pattern of the material inside of it. ~[his flagellate spermatozoon is also unusual in its tendency to intertwine with other spermatozoa, and during movement the intertwined portion of two (double) spermatozoa is always directed forwards. In the axial filament complex, one of the fibrils of each peripheral double fibril bears a hook-shaped process. An indistinct granular material is seen between the 9 outer coarse fibers. Cytoplasmic tubules, probably corresponding to the "microtubules" of other investigators (67), have been observed around the nucleus, mitochondrial nebenkern derivatives, axial filament complex, and acrosome. A description is given of a complex membrane system which surrounds and separates the main organelles of the cell from each other.

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Ten fluorescein isothiocyanate (FΙTC)-linked lectins [Bauhimia purpurea, Concanavalin A, Dolichos biflorus (DBA), Griffonia simplicifolia I, Griffonia simplicifolia II, Madura pomifera, Arachis hypogea (PNA), Glycine max, Ulex europaeus (UEA) and Triticum vulgaris agglutinin] have been used to study their binding features on the human ejaculate spermatozoa. Qualitative changes in the labeling pattern have been observed in unfixed and acetone-treated spermatozoa. Furthermore, ultrastructural localization of some of the colloidal gold-linked lectins, namely PNA, UEA and DBA, has been attempted to delineate the binding domains of the specific sugars on the sperm surface. It needs to be emphasized that flow-cytometric methods employed in our study, which provide quantitative slant to qualitative data, should be utilized to evaluate the functional status of the spermatozoa.