Going beyond conventional parameters to unveil sperm quality in fish: the use of fibre optic technology to assess mitochondrial respiratory performance

Abstract

Sperm fertilisation success depends on both intrinsic quality and the interactions with the surrounding reproductive fluids. In several fish species these interactions have a variable effect on sperm performance. Although specific responses to reproductive fluids may depend on intrinsic differences in sperm quality, variations in the traditionally recorded sperm functional traits do not fully account for the observed patterns. New methods to enhance the evaluation of sperm quality may result valuable at both applied and theoretical levels, by improving the breeding protocol of reared species and the understanding of mating success in sperm competition contexts. Here we develop a fibre optic-based technique, adequate also for small ejaculate samples, to test the role of mitochondrial respiratory efficiency in deciphering sperm performance variability. We purposely used as model the grass goby, Zosterisessor ophiocephalus, a fish with guard-sneaker mating tactics, in which, although sperm of the two male tactics have similar intrinsic quality (velocity, viability, ATP content), sneakers’ sperm better exploit territorials’ seminal fluid. We found that sperm differed in their mitochondrial respiratory efficiency, which was higher in sneakers’ sperm compare to territorials’ ones. This result draws the attention to an indicator of sperm quality that might be helpful in disentangling the mechanisms driving sperm-reproductive fluid interactions.