QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s):
Home     Help     Feedback     Subscriptions     Archive     Search     Table of Contents

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by DAVEY, K. G. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by DAVEY, K. G.

Journal of Experimental Biology 35,694-701 (1958)
Published by Company of Biologists 1958

The Migration of Spermatozoa in the Female of Rhodnius Prolixus Stal

K. G. DAVEY ¹

¹ Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge

1. Removal of the opaque accessory glands from a male Rhodnius prevents the normal migration of the spermatozoa in a female which is inseminated by it.

2. The opaque accessory secretion induces rhythmic contractions in the oviducts, probably by acting through a peripheral nervous system.

3. Paralysis of the muscles of the female without interfering with the motility of the spermatozoa prevents the ascent of the spermatozoa.

4. Killing the spermatozoa in the bursa has no effect on their subsequent migration.

5. The central nervous system is not essential for the migration.

6. It is concluded that the migration of spermatozoa in the female of Rhodnius proxlixus is a result of rhythmic contractions set up in the oviduct by the opaque accessory secretion of the male acting through a peripheral nervous system. Evidence in the literature suggests that the mechanism may operate in a number of spermatophore-forming species.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M. C. B. Qazi and M. F. Wolfner An early role for the Drosophila melanogaster male seminal protein Acp36DE in female sperm storage J. Exp. Biol., October 1, 2003; 206(19): 3521 - 3528. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]