|
Dýchání spermií ryb: druhová specifičnost a vliv teploty prostředí
RAHI, Deepali
The presented studies were designed to investigate the role of mitochondrial respiration, glycolysis, and fatty acid oxidation in the energy supply of spermatozoa in freshwater, externally fertilizing fish species possessing differences in sperm motility duration and spawning temperature. The first study conducted on Siberian sturgeon (Acipenser baerii, Acipenseriformes) revealed that mitochondrial respiration is essential for the energy supply of spermatozoa, while glycolysis and fatty acid oxidation have minor importance at both states - before and after attaining motility. Spermatozoon oxygen consumption rate (OCR) was higher than one detected for coldwater teleosts, such as trout, and lower than in marine species, for example, turbot. The presented study also revealed that sturgeons belong to the group of fishes whose spermatozoa possess the capacity to enhance oxidative metabolism after motility activation and uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). In the second study conducted on spermatozoa of coldwater species burbot (Lota lota, Gadiformes), the functioning of the most important bioenergetic pathways (mitochondrial respiration, glycolysis, and fatty acid oxidation) was investigated at spawning temperature (4 °C) and maximum critical temperature (CTmax, 15 °C). At spawning temperature, similar to the results revealed for Siberian sturgeon spermatozoa, the role of glycolysis and fatty acid oxidation in energy supply was insignificant. Mitochondrial respiration was detectable at both quiescent and motile states, but no inhibition was observed after exposure of sperm to the respiratory inhibitor. Also, the OCR range was the lowest compared to the available data for OCR in teleost spermatozoa at motile or immotile state. Additionally, the OCR was not enhanced after motility activation or after treatment with an uncoupling agent. Contrastingly, at CTmax, the activity of OXPHOS became predominant. The OCR was enhanced, and that could be inhibited by using a respiratory inhibitor. Furthermore, to explore the long-lasting motility of sturgeon spermatozoa, succeeding steps were taken by studying the phosphocreatine-creatine (PCr-Cr) shuttle system apart from the previously studied pathways - OXPHOS, glycolysis, and fatty acid oxidation. The results obtained for sterlet (A. ruthenus, Acipenseriformes) revealed that PCr-Cr shuttle, known for maintaining a homogenous concentration of ATP molecules throughout the flagellar length, plays an active role while spermatozoa are at a quiescent state. No significant contribution of this shuttle in energy supply after sterlet sperm motility activation was detected. In addition to this, presented results also revealed that sturgeon spermatozoa, similar to carp and trout sperm, can be reactivated after the termination of the first motility period, and these secondly activated spermatozoa can successfully fertilize eggs. Moreover, for the first time, it was revealed that OXPHOS and PCr-Cr shuttle systems are the most crucial bioenergetic pathways during the sperm reactivation process. Overall, it was concluded that in the studied fish species, despite taxonomical differences or varying spawning temperature , sperm energy production and utilization strategy remained the same: most of the spermatozoon energy was derived from stored ATP that had been synthesized via OXPHOS during a quiescent but bioenergetically active state. Also, sturgeons are the group of fishes that possess an ability of sperm reactivation, with mitochondrial respiration and PCr-Cr shuttle system being the major contributing pathways for energy supply during reactivation process.
|