spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif spacer gif
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


spacer gif
     Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents    

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Harrison, R. A.
Right arrow Articles by Miller, N. G.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Harrison, R. A.
Right arrow Articles by Miller, N. G.

Journal of Cell Science, Vol 102, Issue 1 123-132, Copyright © 1992 by Company of Biologists

JOURNAL ARTICLES

Behaviour of ejaculated spermatozoa from bull, boar and ram during thin-layer countercurrent partition in aqueous two-phase systems

RA Harrison, ML Jacques, ML Minguez and NG Miller
Department of Biochemistry, AFRC Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics Research, Babraham, Cambridge, UK.

Ejaculated spermatozoa from bulls, boars and rams were subjected to thin-layer countercurrent partition in aqueous two-phase systems composed of dextran T500 and polyethylene glycol 6000 (PEG) in sucrose-based Hepes-buffered media. In the basal system, the great majority of spermatozoa tended to partition with the dextran-rich bottom phase; however, by including very low levels of phosphate, they could be made to partition increasingly with the PEG-rich top phase (complete at 10 mM phosphate). A procedure was developed for carrying out four separations simultaneously under identical conditions, whereby it could be shown that distribution varied with the number of spermatozoa in the sample. In the case of bull, the effect of cell number could be reduced considerably by inclusion of small quantities of seminal plasma in the phase system, but no such effect was found for ram or boar. Considerable variation in distribution pattern was seen between samples, which did not appear to be due to technical inconsistency. Livability in the phase systems was also variable, and we believe that PEG may exert a detergent-like effect on the sperm surface that is exacerbated in highly defined media free of protective proteins.


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Biol. Reprod.Home page
B. Barrios, R. Pérez-Pé, M. Gallego, A. Tato, J. Osada, T. Muiño-Blanco, and J. A. Cebrián-Pérez
Seminal Plasma Proteins Revert the Cold-Shock Damage on Ram Sperm Membrane
Biol Reprod, November 1, 2000; 63(5): 1531 - 1537.
[Abstract] [Full Text]


© The Company of Biologists Ltd 1992