Analysis of motility parameters from paddlefish and shovelnose sturgeon spermatozoa

Abstract

Ninety to 100% of paddlefish Polyodon spathula were motile just after transfer into distilled water, with a velocity of 175 m s 1 , a flagellar beat frequency of 50 Hz and motility lasting 4-6 min. Similarly, 80-95% of shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus spermatozoa were motile immediately when diluted in distilled water, with a velocity of 200 m s 1 , a flagellar beat frequency of 48 Hz and a period of motility of 2-3 min. In both species, after sperm dilution in a swimming solution composed of 20 m Tris-HCl (pH 8·2) and 20 m NaCl, a majority of the samples showed 100% motility of spermatozoa with flagella beatfrequency of 50 Hz within the 5 s following activation and a higher velocity than in distilled water. In such a swimming medium, the time of motility was prolonged up to 9 min for paddlefish and 5 min for sturgeon and a lower proportion of sperm cells had damage such as blebs of the flagellar membrane or curling of the flagellar tip, compared with those in distilled water. The shape of the flagellar waves changed during the motility phase, mostly through a restriction at the part of the flagellum most proximal to the head. A rotational movement of whole cells was observed for spermatozoa of both species. There were significant differences in velocity of spermatozoa between swimming media and distilled water and between paddlefish and shovelnose sturgeon. 2000 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles

Long lasting stickleback sperm; is ovarian fluid a key to success in fresh water?

“…Short motility periods in fresh water have also been found in most other freshwater spawning teleosts (45-60 s) Salmonidae (Morisawa et al, 1983b), Cyprinidae (Morisawa et al, 1983a;Lahnsteiner et al, 1996) and Percidae (Lahnsteiner et al, 1995). 'Knots' or 'blebs' were observed to develop along the flagellum in this medium, a malfunctioning sperm phenomenon reported from other freshwater fishes such as paddlefish Polyodon spathula (Walbaum) and shovelnose sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus (Rafinesque) (Cosson et al, 2000).…”

“…Pacific herring Clupea pallasi Valenciennes (Yanagimachi et al, 1992), Atlantic herring Clupea harengus L. (Geffen, 1999) turbot (Chauvaud et al, 1995) perch, Perca fluviatilis L. (Lahnsteiner et al, 1995) Atlantic cod (Trippel & Nielson, 1992) and lake sturgeon Acipenser fulvescens Rafinesque (Toth et al, 1997). Even higher sperm velocities are reported from the shovelnose sturgeon, having a sperm velocity of 250 mm s À1 (Cosson et al, 2000), and during the brief 15-40 s life of common carp Cyprinus carpio L. sperm, mean velocity is 210 mm s À1 , with individual sperm exhibited explosive bursts of speed of up to 600-700 mm s À1 (Toth et al, 1995). Sperm velocities <100 mm s À1 are found in the burbot Lota lota (L.) (Lahnsteiner et al, 1997a), Atlantic cod (Trippel & Morgan, 1994), bullhead Cottus gobio L. (Lahnsteiner et al, 1997b) and in the wolffish Anarhichas minor Olafson (Kime & Tveiten, 2002).…”

Seminal plasma and coelomic fluid compositions in Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus Borodin 1897)

“…Sperms of both freshwater and seawater fish acquire the potential for motility during transfer from the testis to the sperm duct or upon release into the water (Morisawa and Morisawa, 1986). The inhibition of sperm motility in most species is due to the seminal plasma osmolality (Billard et al, 1995), but a high concentration of potassium ions plays also a major inhibitory role in Salmonidae (Billard and Cosson, 1992) and Acipenseridae (Cosson et al, 1999(Cosson et al, , 2000Alavi et al, 2004). In general, motility of sperm is induced by hypo-osmotic pressure in freshwater fishes and by hyper-osmotic pressure in marine fishes.…”

Ten-Week Exposure to Treated Sewage Discharge Has Relatively Minor, Variable Effects on Reproductive Behavior and Sperm Production in Goldfish

“…Therefore, we expected that reproductive behavior in male goldfish would provide a sensitive test to assess the effects of xenoestrogen exposure. We also expected sperm production might serve as a sensitive and relevant measure of the effects of estrogen exposure [18], as reduced quantity and quality of sperm (the production of which is normally promoted by reproductive interactions with ovulating females [19][20][21][22]), may well lead to reduced fertilization rates [23][24][25][26][27][28]. By exposing male goldfish to undiluted STP effluent in the laboratory, this study addressed two ecologically relevant questions: Is reproductive behavior in goldfish impaired by effluent and/or E2 exposure?…”