title: Composition of ovarian fluid in endangered Caspian brown trout, Salmo trutta caspius, and its effects on spermatozoa motility and fertilizing ability compared to freshwater and a saline medium.
abstract: In this study, ovarian fluid composition and its effects on the motility and fertilizing ability of sperm were studied in endangered Caspian brown trout, Salmo trutta caspius, and were compared with a saline activation medium (125 mM NaCl, 30 mM Glycine, 20 mM Tris-HCl, pH = 9.0) and freshwater as the control. The ovarian fluid was composed of sodium 164.4 +/- 4.4 mM l(-1), potassium 1.8 +/- 0.1 mM l(-1), calcium 0.6 +/- 0.1 mM l(-1), magnesium 0.4 +/- 0.02 mM l(-1), chloride 127.4 +/- 5.9 mM l(-1), total protein 389.5 +/- 89.6 mg 100 ml(-1), cholesterol 9.3 +/- 1.2 mg dl(-1), and glucose 3.3 +/- 0.2 mM l(-1). The percentage of motile spermatozoa and the duration of sperm motility were significantly higher in ovarian fluid (62 +/- 3%, 74.6 +/- 0.8 s) than freshwater (35 +/- 4%, 44 +/- 1 s), but they did not differ significantly from saline medium (56 +/- 3%, 74.3 +/- 0.7 s) (P > 0.05). Higher eyeing rates were observed after the activation of sperm in ovarian fluid and saline solution than freshwater when 35,000 or 350,000 spermatozoa per egg were added into the activation media. However, no significant differences were observed at higher concentrations of spermatozoa per egg (730,000) (P > 0.05). Also, this study showed that the ovarian fluid composition can be considered as a species-specific character among salmonid fishes. As a conclusion, the results of this study recommend the use of ovarian fluid or the saline solution as an activation medium in the artificial reproduction of Caspian brown trout.
authors.affiliation: Research Institute of Fish Culture and Hydrobiology, University of South Bohemia, 389 25 Vodnany, Czech Republic. hatefa00@vurh.jcu.cz
authors.forename: Azadeh
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hatef
authors.forename: Hamid
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Niksirat
authors.forename: Sayyed Mohammad Hadi
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Alavi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001826:Body Fluids / Q000737:chemistry*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization / Q000502:physiology; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D010053:Ovary / Q000737:chemistry*; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D014337:Trout / Q000502:physiology*