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AFM characterization of rabbit spermatozoa
Author(s) -
Ierardi Vincenzo,
Niccolini Alberto,
Alderighi Michele,
Gazzano Angelo,
Martelli Franco,
Solaro Roberto
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
microscopy research and technique
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.536
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1097-0029
pISSN - 1059-910X
DOI - 10.1002/jemt.20584
Subject(s) - atomic force microscopy , acrosome , motility , chemistry , rabbit (cipher) , suspension (topology) , biophysics , anatomy , materials science , nanotechnology , microbiology and biotechnology , semen , biology , computer science , computer security , mathematics , homotopy , pure mathematics
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been applied for determining the topological and structural features of rabbit spermatozoa. Fresh ejaculated spermatozoa were adsorbed passively onto a silicon slide or by motility from suspension onto a poly( L ‐lysine)‐coated glass coverslip and then imaged in air and in buffer saline, respectively. AFM images clearly highlighted many details of spermatozoa head, neck, and tail. Distinct features were observed in the plasmatic membrane of spermatozoa. In particular, head topography easily recognized the acrosome, equatorial segment, equatorial subsegment, and postacrosome regions. Moreover, AFM images revealed the presence of double belt of invaginations around the spermatozoa head, at the boundary between equatorial subsegment and postacrosome regions. All together, the collected AFM images clearly defined a detailed map of spermatozoa morphology while giving some hints on the internal structure. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.