Spermatozoa are generated and mature within a germline syncytium. Differentiation of haploid syncytial spermatids into single motile sperm requires the encapsulation of each spermatid by an independent plasma membrane and the elimination of most sperm cytoplasm, a process known as individualization. Apoptosis is mediated by caspase family proteases. Many apoptotic cell deaths in Drosophila util...

Spermatogenesis is a complex and well-orchestrated process, in which Spermatogonial Stem Cells (SSCs) divide and differentiate to produce unlimited numbers of mature spermatozoa. This process is continuous throughout the adult life in most mammals. The seminiferous epithelium consists of only one somatic cell type, sertoli cell [1] and many different germ cell types [2]. Sertoli cells play a nu...

Alternative splicing of precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) is common in mammalian cells and enables the production of multiple gene products from a single gene, thus increasing transcriptome and proteome diversity. Disturbance of splicing regulation is associated with many human diseases; however, key splicing factors that control tissue-specific alternative splicing remain largely undefined. I...

The seminiferous tubule of the mammalian testis is largely composed of Sertoli and germ cells, which coordinate with Leydig cells in the interstitium and perform two major physiological functions, namely spermatogenesis and steroidogenesis respectively. Each tubule is morphologically divided into (i) the seminiferous epithelium composing Sertoli and germ cells, and (ii) the basement membrane (a...

Cyritestin, a member of the ADAM family of proteins, has been shown to be involved in the interaction between sperm and egg during fertilization. The protein is a transmembrane protein associated with the sperm acrosome. In the present study, electron microscopy was used to trace the distribution of the cyritestin molecule in intratesticular germ cells, particularly in haploid round spermatids ...

Ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules play a major role in compartmentalizing cytoplasmic RNA regulation. Haploid round spermatids that have exceptionally diverse transcriptomes are characterized by a unique germ cell-specific RNP granule, the chromatoid body (CB). The CB shares many characteristics with somatic RNP granules but also has germline-specific features. The CB appears to be a central str...

At the sequence level, genetic diversity is provided by de novo transmittable mutations that may act as a substrate for natural selection. The gametogenesis process itself is considered more likely to induce endogenous mutations and a clear male bias has been demonstrated from recent next-generation sequencing analyses. As new experimental evidence accumulates, the post-meiotic events of the ma...

Many transcripts for proteins specifically expressed in haploid germ cells are synthesized in the spermatogenesis. A monoclonal antibody TRA54 recognizes specific organelles in germ cell cytoplasm from spermatocytes to spermatids (1, 2). Western blots using TRA54 revealed broad bands with 85 kD, 190 kD and >200 kDa in testis probably due to alternative splicing and/or post-translational modific...

Spermatogenesis is a complex mechanism which allows the production of male gametes; it consists of mitotic, meiotic, and differentiation phases. Spermiogenesis is the terminal differentiation process during which haploid round spermatids undergo several biochemical and morphological changes, including extensive remodelling of chromatin and nuclear shape. Spermiogenesis is under control of endoc...

The packaging of the male haploid genome within the differentiating spermatid nucleus is facilitated by small basic nuclear proteins called protamines. Although the majority of the DNA in human sperm chromatin is bound by these proteins, a small percentage retains a nucleosomal-like component. These histone-enriched regions may possess enhanced nuclease sensitivity and have been postulated to d...