Abstract
Pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) is a highly profitable commercial species whose economic value has greatly increased in the last decade. As in other species, the quality of spermatozoa in this species is a principal feature inherent in fertilization success and efficient natural and artificial reproduction. The capacity of fish spermatozoa to be activated and tolerate environmental changes (in osmolality, ion composition, external pH, temperature, etc.) during the motility period contributes to fertilization success. In this study, we investigated the effects of environmental osmolality and ion composition on spermatozoa motility. To determine if the activation mechanism is affected by sperm quality parameters, we measured semen characteristics such as semen volume, spermatozoa concentration, seminal fluid osmolality and ion composition, and spermatozoa lipid composition. An additional parameter of sperm quality reflecting spermatozoa osmoresistance, the swelling rate, was measured by the nephelometry method. We detected that sperm samples with the highest content of palmitic (C16:0) and palmitoleic (C16:1) acids showed the lowest motility activation under the studied conditions, suggesting that these fatty acids are possible markers for the determination of spermatozoa quality in fish. Our results show that pikeperch spermatozoa can be activated under different osmotic conditions and that cell swelling always accompanies motility. However, spermatozoa sustain their volume under hypotonic conditions when motility is not initiated, suggesting that pikeperch spermatozoa activation is mainly controlled by ion composition rather than the osmolarity of the surrounding medium.
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Funding
This study was financially supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic, CENAKVA (LM2018099), Biodiversity (CZ.02.1.01./0.0/0.0/16_025/0007370, Reproductive and Genetic Procedures for Preserving Fish Biodiversity and Aquaculture, by the by Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic – NAZV project No. QK1810221, and by the Grant Agency of the University of South Bohemia in Česke Budejovice (125/2016/Z) and by the Czech Science Foundation (18-12465Y).
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All authors contributed to the preparation of the manuscript for publication. Jindriska Knowles provided pikeperch sperm for the experiments. Olga Bondarenko and Sergey Boryshpolets were responsible for recording and analysing spermatozoa motility. Fabio Herrera was accountable for sperm swelling analyses, preparation of samples for seminal fluid analyses and FA composition analysis, summarizing of the results, and preparation of the draft of the manuscript. Jan Mraz was responsible for the determination of FA composition. Olga Bondarenko was a guarantor of the study.
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The experimental protocols of the study were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee at the University of South Bohemia following the legislation on the protection of animals against cruelty (Act No. 246/1992 Coll.). Manipulations with animals were performed according to the authorization for breeding and delivery of experimental animals (Reference Number: 56665/2016-MZE-17214 17OZ19180/2016–17214, valid from October 4, 2016, for 5 years) and the authorization for the use of experimental animals (Reference Number: 2293/2015-MZE-17214 16OZ22302/2014–17214, valid from January 22, 2015, for 5 years) issued to the Faculty of Fisheries and Protection of Waters, University of South Bohemia, by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. The study was carried out in compliance with the ARRIVE guidelines where appropriate (https://arriveguidelines.org).
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Herrera, F., Boryshpolets, S., Mraz, J. et al. Pikeperch (Sander lucioperca) spermatozoa motility and volume regulation under different osmotic and ionic conditions. Fish Physiol Biochem 48, 899–910 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01086-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-022-01086-0