Biomaterial Database

Viability and acrosome staining of bull, boar and rabbit spermatozoa. 1992

A Kovács, and R H Foote

Department of Animal Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-4801.

A practical and reliable staining procedure was developed to distinguish the viability and acrosomal status of bull, boar and rabbit spermatozoa. The first stain with trypan blue or Congo red is rapid and avoids artifacts. This stain is precipitated by neutral red during the 2 min required for fixation. The precipitate gives a high contrast black color, resistant to the subsequent rinsing and persists during the time required for staining the acrosome with Giemsa. Ten classes of spermatozoa are distinguished (live or dead with intact acrosomes, loose acrosomes, damaged acrosomes, no acrosome, or with no acrosome and no postacrosomal ring). The intact acrosomes are purple, the loose acrosomes are dark lavender and the damaged acrosomes are pale lavender. The anterior part of the head of live spermatozoa with no acrosome is white or light pink and the same area of dead spermatozoa is white or pale gray. The postacrosomal ring is red. The postacrosomal area of the head of live spermatozoa is white or light pink and the same part of dead spermatozoa is black, dark violet or gray. The procedure did not give satisfactory results for stallion spermatozoa.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D009499	Neutral Red	A vital dye used as an indicator and biological stain. Various adverse effects have been observed in biological systems.	Toluylene Red,C.I. Basic Red 5,Nuclear Fast Red (Basic Dye),Red, Neutral,Red, Toluylene
D011817	Rabbits	A burrowing plant-eating mammal with hind limbs that are longer than its fore limbs. It belongs to the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, and in contrast to hares, possesses 22 instead of 24 pairs of chromosomes.	Belgian Hare,New Zealand Rabbit,New Zealand Rabbits,New Zealand White Rabbit,Rabbit,Rabbit, Domestic,Chinchilla Rabbits,NZW Rabbits,New Zealand White Rabbits,Oryctolagus cuniculus,Chinchilla Rabbit,Domestic Rabbit,Domestic Rabbits,Hare, Belgian,NZW Rabbit,Rabbit, Chinchilla,Rabbit, NZW,Rabbit, New Zealand,Rabbits, Chinchilla,Rabbits, Domestic,Rabbits, NZW,Rabbits, New Zealand,Zealand Rabbit, New,Zealand Rabbits, New,cuniculus, Oryctolagus
D002417	Cattle	Domesticated bovine animals of the genus Bos, usually kept on a farm or ranch and used for the production of meat or dairy products or for heavy labor.	Beef Cow,Bos grunniens,Bos indicus,Bos indicus Cattle,Bos taurus,Cow,Cow, Domestic,Dairy Cow,Holstein Cow,Indicine Cattle,Taurine Cattle,Taurus Cattle,Yak,Zebu,Beef Cows,Bos indicus Cattles,Cattle, Bos indicus,Cattle, Indicine,Cattle, Taurine,Cattle, Taurus,Cattles, Bos indicus,Cattles, Indicine,Cattles, Taurine,Cattles, Taurus,Cow, Beef,Cow, Dairy,Cow, Holstein,Cows,Dairy Cows,Domestic Cow,Domestic Cows,Indicine Cattles,Taurine Cattles,Taurus Cattles,Yaks,Zebus
D002470	Cell Survival	The span of viability of a cell characterized by the capacity to perform certain functions such as metabolism, growth, reproduction, some form of responsiveness, and adaptability.	Cell Viability,Cell Viabilities,Survival, Cell,Viabilities, Cell,Viability, Cell
D003224	Congo Red	An acid dye used in testing for hydrochloric acid in gastric contents. It is also used histologically to test for AMYLOIDOSIS.	Red, Congo
D000177	Acrosome	The cap-like structure covering the anterior portion of SPERM HEAD. Acrosome, derived from LYSOSOMES, is a membrane-bound organelle that contains the required hydrolytic and proteolytic enzymes necessary for sperm penetration of the egg in FERTILIZATION.	Acrosomes
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001399	Azure Stains	PHENOTHIAZINES with an amino group at the 3-position that are green crystals or powder. They are used as biological stains.	Giemsa Stain,Giemsa-11,Giemsa 11,Stain, Giemsa,Stains, Azure
D013094	Spermatozoa	Mature male germ cells derived from SPERMATIDS. As spermatids move toward the lumen of the SEMINIFEROUS TUBULES, they undergo extensive structural changes including the loss of cytoplasm, condensation of CHROMATIN into the SPERM HEAD, formation of the ACROSOME cap, the SPERM MIDPIECE and the SPERM TAIL that provides motility.	Sperm,Spermatozoon,X-Bearing Sperm,X-Chromosome-Bearing Sperm,Y-Bearing Sperm,Y-Chromosome-Bearing Sperm,Sperm, X-Bearing,Sperm, X-Chromosome-Bearing,Sperm, Y-Bearing,Sperm, Y-Chromosome-Bearing,Sperms, X-Bearing,Sperms, X-Chromosome-Bearing,Sperms, Y-Bearing,Sperms, Y-Chromosome-Bearing,X Bearing Sperm,X Chromosome Bearing Sperm,X-Bearing Sperms,X-Chromosome-Bearing Sperms,Y Bearing Sperm,Y Chromosome Bearing Sperm,Y-Bearing Sperms,Y-Chromosome-Bearing Sperms