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Geometric Morphometrics of Rodent Sperm Head Shape

Mammalian spermatozoa, particularly those of rodent species, are extremely complex cells and differ greatly in form and dimensions. Thus, characterization of sperm size and, particularly, sperm shape represents a major challenge. No consensus exists on a method to objectively assess size and shape o...

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Autores principales: Varea Sánchez, María, Bastir, Markus, Roldan, Eduardo R. S.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2013
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3842927/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24312234
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0080607
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author Varea Sánchez, María
Bastir, Markus
Roldan, Eduardo R. S.
author_facet Varea Sánchez, María
Bastir, Markus
Roldan, Eduardo R. S.
author_sort Varea Sánchez, María
collection PubMed
description Mammalian spermatozoa, particularly those of rodent species, are extremely complex cells and differ greatly in form and dimensions. Thus, characterization of sperm size and, particularly, sperm shape represents a major challenge. No consensus exists on a method to objectively assess size and shape of spermatozoa. In this study we apply the principles of geometric morphometrics to analyze rodent sperm head morphology and compare them with two traditional morphometry methods, that is, measurements of linear dimensions and dimensions-derived parameters calculated using formulae employed in sperm morphometry assessments. Our results show that geometric morphometrics clearly identifies shape differences among rodent spermatozoa. It is also capable of discriminating between size and shape and to analyze these two variables separately. Thus, it provides an accurate method to assess sperm head shape. Furthermore, it can identify which sperm morphology traits differ between species, such as the protrusion or retraction of the base of the head, the orientation and relative position of the site of flagellum insertion, the degree of curvature of the hook, and other distinct anatomical features and appendices. We envisage that the use of geometric morphometrics may have a major impact on future studies focused on the characterization of sperm head formation, diversity of sperm head shape among species (and underlying evolutionary forces), the effects of reprotoxicants on changes in cell shape, and phenotyping of genetically-modified individuals.
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spelling pubmed-38429272013-12-05 Geometric Morphometrics of Rodent Sperm Head Shape Varea Sánchez, María Bastir, Markus Roldan, Eduardo R. S. PLoS One Research Article Mammalian spermatozoa, particularly those of rodent species, are extremely complex cells and differ greatly in form and dimensions. Thus, characterization of sperm size and, particularly, sperm shape represents a major challenge. No consensus exists on a method to objectively assess size and shape of spermatozoa. In this study we apply the principles of geometric morphometrics to analyze rodent sperm head morphology and compare them with two traditional morphometry methods, that is, measurements of linear dimensions and dimensions-derived parameters calculated using formulae employed in sperm morphometry assessments. Our results show that geometric morphometrics clearly identifies shape differences among rodent spermatozoa. It is also capable of discriminating between size and shape and to analyze these two variables separately. Thus, it provides an accurate method to assess sperm head shape. Furthermore, it can identify which sperm morphology traits differ between species, such as the protrusion or retraction of the base of the head, the orientation and relative position of the site of flagellum insertion, the degree of curvature of the hook, and other distinct anatomical features and appendices. We envisage that the use of geometric morphometrics may have a major impact on future studies focused on the characterization of sperm head formation, diversity of sperm head shape among species (and underlying evolutionary forces), the effects of reprotoxicants on changes in cell shape, and phenotyping of genetically-modified individuals. Public Library of Science 2013-11-28 /pmc/articles/PMC3842927/ /pubmed/24312234 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0080607 Text en © 2013 Varea Sánchez et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are properly credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Varea Sánchez, María
Bastir, Markus
Roldan, Eduardo R. S.
Geometric Morphometrics of Rodent Sperm Head Shape
title Geometric Morphometrics of Rodent Sperm Head Shape
title_full Geometric Morphometrics of Rodent Sperm Head Shape
title_fullStr Geometric Morphometrics of Rodent Sperm Head Shape
title_full_unstemmed Geometric Morphometrics of Rodent Sperm Head Shape
title_short Geometric Morphometrics of Rodent Sperm Head Shape
title_sort geometric morphometrics of rodent sperm head shape
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3842927/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24312234
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0080607
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