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Keywords

salamanders, S. nettingi, reproductive traits

Abstract

I investigated the pleated plasma membrane complex of linear folds and biflagellar entities in developing spermatids of the Western Siren, Siren nettingi. My primary goal was to reveal the ultrastructural morphology of these distinctive cellular folds (usually 8 in number) as they support the flagellar formation of biflagellated sperm found in this salamander and in other members in the family Sirenidae. My results reveal that the biflagellar components (2 sets of axonemes, undulating membranes, and axial fibers), termed biflagellar complex, develop between folds or are attached onto these folds. The folds themselves are transitory and do not directly contribute to the formation of the undulating membranes of the biflagellar complex. Also, the components of the biflagellar complex are uniquely spaced within the interior of the pleated plasma membrane complex. Finally, these extraordinary folds highlight the intricate spermiogenic maturation process within acystic lobular spermatogenesis that distinguish this novel type of vertebrate spermatogenesis known only to occur in sirenid salamanders.

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