Cell population indexes of spermatogenic yield and testicular sperm reserves in adult jaguars ( Panthera onca)

• Published in: Animal reproduction science Vol. 118; no. 1; pp. 83 - 88
• Main Authors: Azevedo, Maria Helena Ferreira de, Paula, Tarcízio Antônio Rego de, Matta, Sérgio Luis Pinto da, Fonseca, Cláudio César, Costa, Eduardo Paulino da, Costa, Deiler Sampaio, Peixoto, Juliano Vogas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-03-2010; [Amsterdam]: Elsevier Science
• Subjects: adult animals; Animals; biopsy; Cell Count - veterinary; Efficiency; Health Status Indicators; histology; Intrinsic yield of spermatogenesis; Jaguar; Male; Panthera - physiology; Panthera onca; seminiferous epithelium; Sertoli cells; Sertoli Cells - cytology; sperm reserves; Sperm Retrieval - veterinary; spermatids; Spermatids - cytology; spermatocytes; Spermatocytes - cytology; spermatogenesis; Spermatogenesis - physiology; spermatozoa; Spermatozoa - cytology; Spermatozoa - physiology; testes; Testicular sperm reserve; Testis - cytology; Testis - physiology; yields; Jaguar; Intrinsic yield of spermatogenesis; Testicular sperm reserve; Panthera onca
• ISSN: 0378-4320; 1873-2232
• DOI: 10.1016/j.anireprosci.2009.05.018

The intrinsic yield of spermatogenesis and supporting capacity of Sertoli cells are the desirable indicators of sperm production in a species. The objective of the present study was to quantify intrinsic yield and the Sertoli cell index in the spermatogenic process and estimate testicular sperm reserves by histological assessment of fragments obtained by testicular biopsy of five adult jaguars in captivity. The testicular fragments were fixed in 4% glutaric aldehyde, dehydrated at increasing alcohol concentrations, included into hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and were cut into 4
μm thickness. In the seminiferous epithelium of the jaguar, 9.2 primary spermatocytes in pre-leptotene were produced by “A” spermatogonia. During the meiotic divisions only 3.2 spermatids were produced by a primary spermatocyte. The general spermatogenic yield of the jaguar was about 23.4 cells and each Sertoli cell was able to maintain about 19.2 germ cells, 11 of them were round spermatids. In each seminiferous epithelium cycle about 166 million spermatozoa were produced by each gram of testicular tissue. In adult jaguars, the general spermatogenic yield was similar to the yield observed in pumas, greater than that observed for the domestic cat, but less compared to most domestic animals.