Comparative Effects of Chemosterilants on Spermatogenic Stages in the House Fly. II. Recovery of Fertility and Sperm Transfer in Successive Matings after Sterilization with 1,3-Propanediol Dimethanesulfonate or X-Rays

Abstract

When 2- to 3-day-old male Musca domestica L. (Diptera: Muscidae) were injected with 20 µg of 1,3 propanediol dimethanesulfonate, most sperm had dominant lethal mutations so the males were sterile in the initial matings. Testes sectioned at regular intervals postinjection contained damaged meiotic and premeiotic cells; pycnotic nuclei were observed 1 day postinjection; and spermatocytes with chromosomal bridges and fragments were observed the 2nd and 3rd day postinjection. Also, the testes contained few spermatocytes the 4th and 5th day postinjection, thus spermatids were scarce the 5th and 7th day. However, sperm production was never completely interrupted, and the level of spermatogenesis 11-13 days postinjection was returning to normal levels. Incontrast, when males were treated with 3 kR of x-rays, all sperm contained dominant lethal mutations, all gonialcells were killed, and the spermatogenic cycle ceased.

Males that mated repeatedly after treatment with the chemosterilant recovered their fertility and became as fertile as the controls after 7-8 matings, but the males that did not remate repeatedly did not recover fertility. There was little difference between fertility of males mated 1, 7, or 12 days posttreatment if they remained celibate in the interim. Irradiated males were able to transfer sperm for many matings over several weeks.