The Golgi apparatus of rat pachytene spermatocytes during spermatogenesis

A morphological and immunocytochemical study of the Golgi apparatus in pachytene spermatocytes was performed in an effort to correlate the structure and function of this organelle during meiotic prophase. In stages I‐III of the cycle, the Golgi complex of pachytene spermatocytes is a flattened discoid, 0.5–1 μm in diameter, composed of vesicles interspersed with classically described Golgi cisternae. During subsequent maturation of pachytene spermatocytes (stages IV–XIII), the size of the Golgi complex increases significantly, attaining a size of 2–3 μm. However, unlike pachytene spermatocytes of stages I–III, the majority of the Golgi complex of more mature spermatocytes is characterized by an abundance of distinct stacks of cisternae interspersed with numerous vesicles and tubules. The composition of the Golgi complex was also studied by using two monoclonal antibodies that recognize either the cis or the trans Golgi cisternae, respectively, and employing biotin‐streptavidin‐peroxidase immunocytochemistry in 5 μm frozen sections of testes. Immunodetection of the distinct cisternae revealed that the increase in size of the Golgi complex during maturation of pachytene spermatocytes was due predominantly to an accumulation of trans Golgi; the amount of cis Golgi remained unchanged.