Ultrastructural changes in Marsupenaeus japonicus spermatozoa in the journey from the testis to the female thelycum

Marsupenaeus japonicus is one of the most important penaeid shrimp farmed in China. As a typical closed thelycum penaeid shrimp, the morphological changes in the spermatozoa during the journey from the testis to the female thelycum remain unclear in this species. Herein, an ultrastructural comparison of the spermatozoa in the testis (TE), vas deferens (VD), and the spermatophore in the male terminal ampoule (SA) and the female seminal receptacle (SR) of M. japonicus was conducted. The spermatozoa in the VD, SA and SR shared typical morphological characteristics of the spermatozoa of decapod dendrobranchiates, including a spherical main body and a slender spike. However, no spike was observed in the spermatozoa collected from the TE. The spike of the spermatozoa in the SA and SR was longer than that in the VD, whereas no significant difference in spike length was observed between the spermatozoa from the SA and SR. The basic ultrastructure of the spermatozoa in the VD, SA and SR was similar, except for some differences in the nuclear region. The main body of the spermatozoa comprised the cytoplasmic band, nuclear region, several small and large vesicles, and the basal region of the acrosomal structure. The nuclear materials in the spermatozoa from the TE were more electron‐dense than those in the VD, SA and SR, while the nuclear region of the spermatozoa was more electron‐lucent in the SR than in the VD and SA. These findings preliminarily reveal the ultrastructural changes in M. japonicus spermatozoa during the journey from the testis to the female thelycum and provided a theoretical foundation for developing effective artificial insemination methods in this species.