Behavior of Cytoplasmic Membranous Structures in Spermatogenesis of the Grasshopper, Atractomorpha bedeli Bolivar

The course of formation of the stack of cisternal ER and the tubular ER were studied in successive stages of meiotic divisions in Atractomorpha bedeli.A very few stacks of cisternal ER or tubular ER are seen in the cytoplasm of gonial cells (Fig. 1). In cells in diplotene and diakinesis stages (Fig. 15), however, the cytoplasm is filled with agranular tubular ER. In some cells in early meiotic prophase (leptotene stage), agglomeration of vesicles is seen in the vicinity of Golgi bodies or between Golgi bodies (Figs. 4 and 5). In this region, near to the Golgi body or between Golgi bodies, a developing stack of granular ER cisternae is seen in cells in the pachytene stage (Figs. 7-13). The elements in the ER stack are continuous with the Golgi vesicles. The Golgi vesicles furthest outside the Golgi cisternae are oblong and semi-granular, suggesting that they are half-formed ER cisteranae. In these stages, tubular ER are also seen which are limited to the vicinity of the Golgi body, and continuation of tubular ER with the Golgi vesicles is often observed. These facts suggest that the stack of cisteranl ER and tubular ER are formed by fusion of Golgi vesicles. The stack of cisternal ER afterwards moves in the cytoplasm to a place different from the Golgi region and becomes attached to the nuclear envelope (cf. diakinesis stage, Fig. 14).