Supplementation of Extender with Melatonin Improves the Motility, Mitochondrial Membrane Potential, and Fertilization Ability of Cryopreserved Brown-Marbled Grouper Sperm
Qingxin Ruan,
Sen Yang,
Sijie Hua,
Weiwei Zhang,
Duo Li,
Yang Yang,
Xi Wang,
Qinghua Wang,
Zining Meng
Affiliations
Qingxin Ruan
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Aquatic Economic Animals, China-ASEAN Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Mariculture Technology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Sen Yang
College of Food Science and Technology, Guangdong Ocean University (Yangjiang Campus), Yangjiang 529599, China
Sijie Hua
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Aquatic Economic Animals, China-ASEAN Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Mariculture Technology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Weiwei Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Aquatic Economic Animals, China-ASEAN Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Mariculture Technology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Duo Li
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Aquatic Economic Animals, China-ASEAN Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Mariculture Technology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Yang Yang
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Aquatic Economic Animals, China-ASEAN Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Mariculture Technology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Xi Wang
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Aquatic Economic Animals, China-ASEAN Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Mariculture Technology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Qinghua Wang
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Aquatic Economic Animals, China-ASEAN Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Mariculture Technology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Zining Meng
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, Institute of Aquatic Economic Animals and Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Aquatic Economic Animals, China-ASEAN Belt and Road Joint Laboratory on Mariculture Technology, School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Sperm cryopreservation is a valuable tool for breeding, conservation, and genetic improvement in aquatic resources, while oxidative damage will cause a decline in sperm quality during this progress. Melatonin (MT), a natural antioxidant hormone, is used as an additive in sperm cryopreservation to reduce cellular damage from oxidative stress. Here, we aimed to investigate the effect of adding MT to the freezing medium in sperm cryopreservation of brown-marbled grouper (Epinephelus fuscoguttatus). Different concentrations of MT (0, 0.1, 0.25, and 0.5 mg/mL) were tested. We evaluated sperm motility, viability, apoptosis, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and fertilization ability to assess the effects of MT supplementation. Our results demonstrated that the addition of MT to the extender improved the post-thaw motility, MMP, and fertilization ability of brown-marbled grouper sperm. The total motility, curvilinear velocity, straight linear velocity, and average path velocity in MT-treated groups (0.1 and 0.25 mg/mL) exhibited significantly higher values than that of the control group. A higher MMP (p < 0.05) was observed in the group treated with 0.25 mg/mL MT, suggesting that supplementation of MT in the extender might be able to protect mitochondrial membrane integrity effectively. Regarding fertilizing ability, 0.25 mg/mL MT yielded a significantly higher hatching rate than the control. An adverse effect was found with the concentration of MT up to 0.5 mg/mL, suggesting the possible toxicity of a high-dose addition. In this study, we optimized the sperm cryopreservation protocol of brown-marbled grouper, which might be valuable for sperm cryopreservation and sample commercialization of groupers and other fish.
