An Air-Drying Method for Meiotic Preparations from Mammalian Testes

Abstract

A suspension is made in isotonic (2.2%) sodium citrate solution from the contents of the tubules from a whole testis or a testicular biopsy specimen. The germinal cells are sedimented by centrifuging, leaving most of the sperm in the supernatant fluid, which is discarded. The cells are resuspended in hypo-tonic (1%) sodium citrate solution and left to stand at room temperature for 12 minutes, after which they are sedimented again and fixed as a concentrated suspension in a mixture of 3 parts absolute ethyl alcohol to 1 part glacial acetic acid plus a trace of chloroform. Two quick changes into fresh fixative follow. Air-dried preparations are made from the final fixed suspension and stained in lactic-acetic-orcein. The method is suitable for stages of male meiosis in which the chromosomes are condensed. Its principle advantage is the separation of the clumps of spermatogonia and spermatocytes into individual cells which are randomly dispersed over the preparations. Compared with squash techniques, the air-drying method gives improved spreading of the chromosomes and less cell breakage.