Changes in motility, ATP content, morphology and fertilisation capacity during the movement phase of tetraploid Pacific oyster [i](Crassostrea gigas)[/i] sperm

• Published in: Theriogenology
• Main Authors: Suquet, M., Labbé, Catherine, Brizard, R., Donval, A., Le Coz, J.R., Quere, C., Haffray, Pierrick
• Other Authors: Physiologie Fonctionnelle des Organismes Marins (PFOM), Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), Station commune de Recherches en Ichtyophysiologie, Biodiversité et Environnement (SCRIBE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Unité Amélioration génétique, Santé animale et Environnement (AGSAE), Université de Brest (UBO), Syndicat des Sélectionneurs Avicoles et Aquacoles Français (SYSAAF)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: tetraploid; ultrastructure; atp; motility; sperm; oyster; Crassostrea gigas; [SDV.BDLR]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Reproductive Biology; [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology; Pacific oyster
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-01205008; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2010.01.021

Changes in sperm features during the movement phase are especially interesting to study in external fertilization species whose sperm duration movement is long because this implies a significant adaptation of moving cells to the external medium. This study describes the changes in tetraploid Pacific oyster sperm characteristics in relation to time post activation. Sperm individually collected on three tetraploid males were activated in seawater. Their features were analysed over a 24 h period and compared to a sperm pool collected on three diploid males as a reference. The percentage of motile spermatozoa, the intracellular ATP content, and the fine structure of spermatozoa were studied in relation to time post activation. Furthermore, the fertilisation capacity of sperm individually collected on five diploid males was assessed after 1 and 24 h post activation. A forward progressive movement was maintained for at least a 20 h duration. Compared to diploid males, the percentage of motile spermatozoa was lower in tetraploid males. The intracellular ATP concentration was higher in spermatozoa from tetraploid males than in spermatozoa from diploid males. A decrease in ATP content was observed in the first 6 h post activation and severe alterations were observed in sperm morphology after 24 h. Then, a lower fertilisation capacity of sperm from diploid males was observed at the end of the movement phase. The cessation of Pacific oyster sperm motility was unlikely caused by ATP consumption as ATP concentration was still high at the end of sperm movement but rather caused by drastic changes in sperm morphology. Compared to sperm collected on diploid males, the lower quality of sperm from tetraploid males was emphasized by a shorter movement duration and deeper morphological alterations at the end of the movement phase. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.