title: Unique phenotypes in the sperm of the earthworm Eudrilus eugeniae for assessing radiation hazards.
abstract: The earthworm, Eudrilus eugeniae is a segmented worm. It has two pairs of testes whose cells are highly proliferative. It was found that the earthworm, which is irradiated with X-ray, shows the following phenotypic changes in its sperm: fragmented acrosome in the head, break in the tail, and the appearance of zigzag sperm tail. Sperm morphology can be used as a tool to study radiation hazards in local areas. These three phenotypes were not observed in the sperm of worms exposed to different concentration of toxic chemicals such as sodium arsenate, lead acetate, and mercuric chloride. In contrast, exposure of worms to ethidium bromide caused fragmented acrosome in the head of their sperm cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Alwarkurichi, 627 412 Tamilnadu, India.
authors.forename: Beryl Vedha
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Yesudhason
authors.forename: Jothipandi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jegathambigai
authors.forename: Pon Amutha
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Thangasamy
authors.forename: Durga Devi
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Lakshmanan
authors.forename: Johnson Retnaraj Samuel
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Selvan Christyraj
authors.forename: Emmanuel Joshua Jebasingh
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Sathya Balasingh Thangapandi
authors.forename: Muthukalingan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krishnan
authors.forename: Sudhakar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sivasubramaniam
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D009835:Oligochaeta; D010641:Phenotype; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000254:growth & development / Q000528:radiation effects*
chemical_list: D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive