That's why elephants have smaller
sperm than mice.
Not exact matches
These modified
mice had significantly smaller testes and lower
sperm counts
than their normal counterparts — and when the group bred them with normal females, they found that the litter size was around half normal.
But the males — despite having smaller testes and lower
sperm counts
than normal
mice — were clearly fertile and produced offspring.
«Why
mice have longer
sperm than elephants.»
In addition, the
sperm heads of this
mouse «are huge,» suggesting that they pack much more DNA
than typical rodent
sperm does, Gallardo notes.
Next came the ultimate test: would
sperm from polygamous males be more successful at producing offspring
than sperm from monogamous
mice?
In previous research, Wu and colleagues found that genes related to
sperm production in fruit flies,
mice, and rats evolved faster
than other genes.
Exposure of rats,
mice, and dogs for several weeks showed some damage to the testes and
sperm at doses of more
than 26 mg boron / kg which corresponds to 15 grams of borax / day for 60 kg body weight.