1. Sperm quality in wild-caught and farmed males of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla)
- Author
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Lisa Locatello, Oliviero Mordenti, Nadia Govoni, Angela Trocino, Gerolamo Xiccato, Albamaria Parmeggiani, Daniela Bertotto, R. Cerri, and Locatello L, Bertotto D, Cerri R, Parmeggiani A, Govoni N, Trocino A, Xiccato G, Mordenti O.
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Male ,endocrine system ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Captivity ,Zoology ,Animals, Wild ,Aquaculture ,Biology ,Human chorionic gonadotropin ,03 medical and health sciences ,Endocrinology ,Food Animals ,European eel Captivity Sperm Ejaculate quality Fatty acids ,Animals ,Sperm quality ,Unsaturated fatty acid ,Testosterone ,media_common ,chemistry.chemical_classification ,urogenital system ,Longevity ,Fatty acid ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,General Medicine ,Anguilla ,Sperm ,Spermatozoa ,Semen Analysis ,030104 developmental biology ,European eel ,chemistry ,Ejaculate quality ,040102 fisheries ,0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries ,Animal Science and Zoology - Abstract
Sperm density and performance of wild and farmed male European eels were evaluated to investigate the effect of maintenance in captivity on ejaculate quality. Hormonal stimulation (with human chorionic gonadotropin) lasted for 17 weeks. Different origins of the male European eels partially influenced the quality of the ejaculates. Indeed, wild animals (i.e., collected at a natural site) had greater sperm longevity during the hormonal stimulation, whereas there was no significant effect of the origin on sperm density, spermatocrit, the percentage of motile sperm, and plasma testosterone concentrations. The different origins of the males also affected fatty acid sperm content, with greater unsaturated fatty acid and omega-6 concentrations in wild eels and lesser concentrations of saturated fatty acids and omega-3 fatty acids in farmed eels. Regarding sperm quality of European eels, this is the first study that takes into account the effect of different origins of stimulated males (wild-caught compared with farmed) on sperm quality, and these findings may help to improve the production of high-quality gametes in this endangered species.
- Published
- 2018