Ultrastructural characterization of nuage in spermatocytes of the rat testis.

At least six different types of nuage, as judged by morphological appearance, were found in spermatocytes of the adult rat testis. These were characterized by form, distribution, and association with other organelles. The appearance (with time) and the dissociation of some nuage types were recorded in conjunction with other events of the spermatogenic cycle. The data indicate that all types of nuage behave in a dynamic way. Especially interesting were the findings concerning the chromatoid body. This structure was first observed in mid-pachytene spermatocytes. By late diplotene and during the first meiotic division, it had lost its prominence such that its eventual fate could not be determined. Large dense (0.5 micrometer) bodies appeared de novo in the cytoplasm of newly formed secondary spermatocytes. They were seen scattered throughout the cell and in association with mitochondria. With time these bodies appeared to coalesce to form the large definitive chromatoid of a type similar to that known to be present throughout most of the remainder of spermiogenesis.