Progressive defects observed in mouse sperm during the course of three generations of selenium deficiency

Three successive generations of mice were fed a Torula yeast based Se‐deficient diet with or without 0.1 ppm Se in the drinking water. The Se‐deficient mice, in the course of three generations, showed a decrease in body weight, testis weight, epididymal weight, and sperm production. The percentage of morphologically abnormal sperm increased in successive generations. The majority of sperm defects were found in the midpiece region of the tail. Many of these aberrant sperm were motile. A progressive decrease in fertility was noted during the first two generations of Se deficiency. This system confirms the essential role of Se in spermatogenesis and provides a model for the evaluation of the primary effect of Se deprivation on the structural development of sperm.