Sperm storage in the oviduct of the tropical rock lizard, Psammophilus dorsalis

Abstract

The female rock lizard, Psammophilus dorsalis (Agamidae), lays multiple clutches of eggs over a period of 6 months (June-December). The later clutches of eggs are presumably fertilized by sperm stored from earlier matings, since testes and epididymides are regressed after August. Sperm storage is seen in pockets of the anterior vaginal region of the oviduct. Sperm recovered from the uterovaginal region are intact and motile. Discrete granules resembling the secretory granules present in the vas deferens also occur along with sperm in the vaginal sperm storage structures. The PAS-positive granules and acid phosphatase form important components of the secretions present along with sperm in the vaginal sperm storage pockets. The epithelium of the vaginal sperm storage pockets is PAS-positive and contains lipid. Several enzymes, including hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases and hydrolases, are localized histochemically in the epithelium of the vaginal sperm storage pockets. A possible role is suggested for the secretions from the male reproductive tract during sperm storage in the oviduct, in which physiological "dormancy" of the sperm during their storage may be maintained by the metabolic "milieu" in the vaginal sperm storage pockets by a mechanism similar to that effecting dormancy of the epididymal sperm in the male. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Reproductive biology ofGymnodactylus darwinii(Gray, 1845) (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae) from southeastern Brazil

“…Cuellar, 1966; King, 1977). However, as most tropical lizards have synchronized reproductive cycles between sexes, sperm storage may not be essential (Srinivas et al., 1995). The increase in frequency of reproduction seems to represent the form of compensation for the small and fixed clutch sizes of this species, since there is no correlation between egg volume and female body size.…”

Identification of the sperm motility-initiating substance in the newt, Cynops pyrrhogaster, and its possible relationship with the acrosome reaction during internal fertilization

“…In externally fertilizing echinoderms and salmon fish, the initiation of sperm motility is mediated by several types of cations (Lee et al, 1983;Morisawa and Suzuki, 1980), whereas it occurs via changes in In internally fertilizing vertebrates, motility is initiated or activated in sperm stored in the female"genital tract (Suarez, 1987;Gist and Jones, 1989;Smith and Yanagimachi, 1991;Suarez et al, 1991;Baskt, 1992;Birkhead et al, 1993;Srinvas et al, 1995). In mammals, the caudal isthmus of the oviduct is the sperm storage site (Smith and Yanagimachi, 1991) from which sperm are released into the lumen with hyperactivated motility (DeMott and Suarez, 1992).…”

Ultrastructural Features of Sperm Storage Tubules in the Oviduct of the Indian Garden Lizard, Calotes Versicolor

“…However, in the present study the stored sperm was normal with a structural integrity. The fertilizing ability of stored sperm has been demonstrated in C. versicolor (Shanbhag and Prasad, ) and similarly, motile sperm have been also recovered from the oviduct of another sympatric species, the rock lizard, Psammophilus dorsalis (Srinivas et al, ). Our previous studies (Kumari et al, ) have shown that a large proportion of females in the natural population of C. versicolor are found with oviductal eggs over an extended period (October to next January), when complete testicular regression is observed, providing strong circumstantial evidence for the hypothesis that the stored sperm is used for fertilizing the eggs laid in multiple clutches without repeated mating (Kumari et al, ).…”