Comparison of DNA revealed by Feulgen and by Ultra-violet Light in Rabbit Spermatozoa after Storage in the Male Efferent Ducts

Abstract

PUBLISHED data concerning the correlation of the content of DNA of spermatozoa and their capacity to fertilize are contradictory. We have therefore investigated thirteen sexually mature rabbits with normal spermatogenesis. Ejaculates were collected from all the rabbits, and the content of DNA in single spermatozoa (twenty on a slide) was measured in visible light at 560 mµ, after they had been stained with Feulgen by a standard technique, and in ultra-violet light at 260 mµ while still unstained. The measurements were made with an automatic scanning microspectrophotometer¹. Testicular degeneration was induced in ten rabbits by means of a hot water spray on the scrotum (10′ at 46° C). The three remaining rabbits served as controls. Both the controls and the treated animals were killed at different intervals after treatment and spermatozoa were collected from the caput epididymis, the cauda epididymis and the ampullae. In these spermatozoa, too, the contents of DNA were measured in twenty cells after staining with Feulgen, and in the ultraviolet spectrum.