The intact acrosome of the Mytilus edulis spermatozoon consists of a conical vesicle, the basal side of which is deeply invaginated so that the whole vesicle forms a sheath around a very slender axial rod, about 2.7 µ long, inserted in a tube passing through the nucleus. The annular base of the acrosomal vesical is filled with a homogeneous substance; the outer wall of the vesicle is lined with a somewhat irregular layer of a particulate substance interspersed with very fine tubular elements, and its lumen is nearly filled by a strand of material which extends from the inner tip of the invagination to the apex of the acrosome. The lumen of the invagination appears empty except for the rod and a delicate sleeve-like structure which surrounds it. The plasma membrane of the sperm cell lies in immediate contact with the acrosomal membrane over its whole outer surface. In its general organization, this molluscan acrosome shows a rather close homology with that of the annelid Hydroides.
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1 May 1965
Article|
May 01 1965
THE ACROSOME REACTION IN MYTILUS EDULIS : I. Fine Structure of the Intact Acrosome
Lumiko Niijima,
Lumiko Niijima
From Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Ochanomizu University, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, and The Misaki Marine Biological Station, Miura-Shi, Japan.
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Jean Dan
Jean Dan
From Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Ochanomizu University, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, and The Misaki Marine Biological Station, Miura-Shi, Japan.
Search for other works by this author on:
Lumiko Niijima
From Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Ochanomizu University, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, and The Misaki Marine Biological Station, Miura-Shi, Japan.
Jean Dan
From Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Ochanomizu University, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, and The Misaki Marine Biological Station, Miura-Shi, Japan.
Miss Niijima's present address is Laboratory of Hard-Tissue Physiology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
Received:
March 18 1964
Online ISSN: 1540-8140
Print ISSN: 0021-9525
Copyright © 1965 by The Rockefeller Institute Press
1965
J Cell Biol (1965) 25 (2): 243–248.
Article history
Received:
March 18 1964
Citation
Lumiko Niijima, Jean Dan; THE ACROSOME REACTION IN MYTILUS EDULIS : I. Fine Structure of the Intact Acrosome . J Cell Biol 1 May 1965; 25 (2): 243–248. doi: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.25.2.243
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