Recent developments in male fertility evaluation, sperm cryopreservation and artificial fertilisation, and their potential application to decapod crustacean aquaculture

Abstract

To maximise productivity, a better understanding of the underlying causes of subfertility that lead to inferior offspring and high mortality is imperative. In decapod crustaceans, most research has focused on female reproductive performance, with little attention given to male fertility. Paternal genetic contribution is critical to both successful embryonic and post‐embryonic development. Assessment of sperm quality can be a direct method to determine male subfertility in decapods. Sperm quality parameters such as sperm concentration and morphology have traditionally been used to determine male reproductive performance, but these procedures are time‐consuming and can only assess a limited number of sperm cells and males. Alternative diagnostic biomarkers used widely in humans and other mammals could be adapted to decapod crustaceans and may be more indicative of sperm fertilisation competence and male reproductive performance. These predictive biomarkers use fluorescent cellular dyes and high‐throughput flow cytometry or computer‐assisted sperm microscopic analysis to evaluate sperm viability, mitochondrial function, acrosome reaction and DNA fragmentation. This review examines current and advanced biomarkers to evaluate sperm quality and further explores state‐of‐the‐art procedures of sperm cryopreservation (conventional vs. vitrification techniques) and artificial fertilisation in decapod crustaceans. Sperm freezing coupled with artificial fertilisation in decapods permits the long‐term storage, controlled timing and selection of individuals for reproduction. Collectively, these tools can be applied to commercial broodstock management to improve productivity and accelerate selective breeding in the crustacean aquaculture industry.

Impact of water temperature on the shipping of berried female broodstock (Macrobrachium rosenbergii): A study on survival, egg retention, hatching duration, and hatching success rate

“…Females possess a broader abdominal region and their second pair of walking legs, also known as pereiopods, are smaller in size compared to those of males. Gender can also be determined by the location of the genital openings; for females, they are situated on the segment associated with the fifth pair of walking legs, while for males, these openings are found on the segment linked to the third (Aquino et al, 2022). After 12 hours of shipping test, the results showed that the mortality rate of the control group was significantly (p<0.05), higher than those of T1 (25.5±0.5°C) and T2 (21.5±0.5°C).…”