Ultrastructure of spermatogenesis, spermatozoon and processes of testicular regression and recrudescence in Eptesicus furinalis (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae)

Studies have shown that the annual reproductive cycle of Eptesicus furinalis includes at least one period of total testicular regression. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate their reproductive cycle ultrastructurally. The annual reproductive cycle was divided into four periods: active, regressing, regressed and recrudescence. The active period was similar to that of other bats, including the completion of spermatogenesis with three main types of spermatogonia (Ad, Ap and B) and 12 steps in the process of spermatid differentiation. However, its spermatozoa differed in that outer dense fibers 1, 5, 6 and 9 are larger than the others and due to the presence of what is likely a probably genera-specific bulging in the anterior portion. In the regressing period, Sertoli cell nuclei migrate to the basal compartment with the nuclei close to the basal lamina. The basal compartment had a more compact appearance than the adluminal compartment, with relaxed cellular connections. In the regressed period, spermatogenesis ceased; the seminiferous epithelium was composed only of Sertoli cells and three types of spermatogonia: types Ad, 1 and 2. In the recrudescence period, spermatogenesis restarted, with the process of reactivation divided into three phases: early, medial and late recrudescence. In conclusion, our study described the process of spermatogenesis and the ultrastructure of the spermatozoa and confirmed the presence of a process of total testicular regression in the annual cycle of E. furinalis. We characterize distinct morphologic variations in the ultrastructure of the testicular cells during the four different periods of the annual reproductive cycle.