Chromosome analysis of BALB/c mouse spermatozoa with normal and abnormal head morphology.

To assess the relationship between mouse sperm head morphology and karyotype, sperm heads with either a normal or an abnormal morphology were injected individually into enucleated mouse oocytes that were karyotyped at the metaphase of the first cleavage. BALB/c male mice that produce an unusually high proportion of morphologically abnormal spermatozoa were used as sperm donors. Abnormal karyotypes were found in a significantly higher proportion of eggs injected with severely misshapen sperm heads (36-38%) as compared to those injected with normal and quasi-normal heads (15-21%) (p < 0.01). Most karyotype abnormalities were structural rather than numerical, the most common being breaks and exchanges of chromosome type in both normal and abnormal spermatozoa.