Involvement of Mitochondrial Activity and OXPHOS in ATP Synthesis During the Motility Phase of Spermatozoa in the Pacific Oyster, Crassostrea gigas

• Published in: Biology of Reproduction
• Main Authors: Boulais, Myrina, Soudant, Philippe, Le Goïc, Nelly, Quéré, Claudie, Boudry, Pierre, Suquet, Marc
• Other Authors: Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin (LEMAR) (LEMAR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), European Project: 245119,EC:FP7:KBBE,FP7-KBBE-2009-3,REPROSEED(2010)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: Crassostrea gigas; intracellular ATP content; mitochondrial membrane potential; oxidative phosphorylation; sperm motility; ACL; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; Pacific; Pacific oyster
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02554379; https://doi.org/10.1095/biolreprod.115.128538

In the Pacific oyster, spermatozoa are characterized by a remarkably long movement phase (i.e., over 24 h) sustained by a capacity to maintain intracellular ATP level. To gain information on oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) functionality during the motility phase of Pacific oyster spermatozoa, we studied: i) changes in spermatozoa mitochondrial activity (i.e., mitochondrial membrane potential, MMP) and intracellular ATP content in relation to motion parameters and ii) the involvement of OXPHOS for spermatozoa movement using CCCP. The percentage of motile spermatozoa decreased over a 24 h movement period. MMP increased steadily during the first 9 h of the movement phase and was subsequently maintained at a constant level. Conversely, spermatozoa ATP content decreased steadily during the first 9 h post activation and was maintained at this level during the following hours of the movement phase. When OXPHOS was decoupled by CCCP, the movement of spermatozoa was maintained 2 h and totally stopped after 4 h of incubation, whereas spermatozoa were still motile in the control after 4 h. Our results suggest that ATP sustaining flagellar movement of spermatozoa may partially originate from glycolysis or from mobilization of stored ATP or potential phosphagens during the first 2 h of movement as OXPHOS was decoupled by CCCP. However, OXPHOS is required to sustain the long motility phase of Pacific oyster spermatozoa. In addition, spermatozoa may hydrolyse intracellular ATP content during the early part of the movement phase, stimulating mitochondrial activity. This stimulation seems to be involved in sustaining a high ATP level until the end of the motility phase.