Artificial Insemination
One technique we have developed for studying sperm development and sperm competition in worms is a procedure for withdrawing sperm from one animal and artificially inseminating them into a different one. The photograph above shows a glass capillary needle filled with sperm. One of the several male donors for the sperm is shown below the needle. Below, a hermaphrodite is being artificially inseminated. Published References: LaMunyon, C.W., and S. Ward. (1994) Assessing the viability of mutant and manipulated sperm by artificial insemination of Caenorhabditis elegans . Genetics 138 , 689-692. LaMunyon, C.W., and S. Ward . (1995) Sperm precedence in a hermaphroditic nematode (Caenorhabditis elegans ) is due to competitive superiority of male sperm. Experientia 51 , 817-823. Minniti, A.N., C. Sadler and S. Ward (1996) Genetic and molecular analysis of spe-27 ,a gene required for spermiogenesis in Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodites. Genetics 143 , 213-223.  http://www.mcb.arizona.edu/wardlab/artinsem.html All Contents Copyright © 2000. All rights reserved. Last Modified: October 13, 1998 Paul Muhlrad pmuhlrad@u.arizona.edu