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Soybean Agglutinin Binding in Germ Cells during Spermatogenesis of the Cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus

Abstract The sugar chain expression in germ cells of a cricket, Gryllus bimaculatus, during spermatogenesis was cytochemically followed using soybean agglutinin (SBA) as a probe. Affinities to SBA were tested on paraffin sections of the testes fixed in Bouin's solution with biotinylated SBA and streptavidin-peroxidase. SBA showed spermatogenesis stage-specific binding. The most intense binding activity appeared at the early meiotic prophase of the spermatocytes, with the activity decreasing at later stages of spermatocytes. Through electron microscopic analysis, it was elucidated that SBA bound to the cell surface and some clusters of dense bodies with a multilaminar structure. At the stage of round spermatids, SBA bound to Golgi apparatus. Treatment of the section with α-N-acetylgalactosaminidase before cytochemistry resulted in the disappearance of most of the binding activity. These results suggest that glycoconjugates with terminal α-N-acetylgalactosamine take part in cricket spermatogenesis during meiotic prophase and acrosome formation.