Zootechnical Brown Trout (Salmo trutta L. 1758) Ovarian Fluid Fails to Upregulate the Swimming Performances of Native Mediterranean Brown Trout (Salmo cettii Rafinesque, 1810) Sperm in the Biferno River

Abstract

In external fertilizer fish, ovarian fluid (OF) seems to play a key role in fertilization success, improving spermatozoa swimming performance. These OF/sperm interaction mechanisms are frequently species-specific and/or population-specific and could decrease the risk of genetic introgression of wild populations from introduced or escaped zootechnical individuals. The Mediterranean brown trout (Salmo cettii) is threatened by genetic introgression with strains of domestic brown trout (Salmo trutta) that were introduced for recreational purposes. The aim of our study was to test if native S. cettii females, rather than zootechnical S. trutta, produce OF with a greater ability to upregulate the sperm motility of conspecific males. Thus, we compared the sperm swimming performances of males inhabiting the Biferno River (Molise region—Southern Italy) activated in native S. cettii vs. zootechnical S. trutta female’s OFs. In our study, native females’ OFs (20% diluted), compared to spring water, has the ability to significantly boost the sperm performance of the autochthonous males, while zootechnical S. trutta fails. These preliminary results suggest that OF-sperm interactions could potentially influence or direct the hybridization mechanisms involving the native Mediterranean trout inhabiting the Biferno River and the domestic lineage of brown trout introduced in the past.