chapter 3 - RiuNet
chapter 3 - RiuNet
chapter 3 - RiuNet
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GENERAL INTRODUCTION<br />
Table 1. Main factors affecting the reproductive success using fish sperm<br />
(modified from Fauvel et al., 2010).<br />
Parental effect<br />
Activation medium<br />
Human interaction<br />
Temperature<br />
Photoperiod<br />
Domestication<br />
Reproductive age<br />
Nutrition<br />
Selection<br />
Temperature<br />
Ion composition<br />
Osmolality<br />
pH<br />
Hormonal induction<br />
Preservation<br />
Chilled storage<br />
Cryopreservation<br />
Xenobiotics<br />
3.1 Basic parameters for assessing sperm quality<br />
Over the years a relatively high number of sperm parameters have been<br />
used to assess sperm quality. These sperm biomarkers have so far been<br />
documented in scientific papers, and several traits of the fish/sperm itself,<br />
such as osmolality, pH and chemical composition of the seminal plasma<br />
(Asturiano et al., 2005; Ciereszko, 2008); enzymatic activity (Burness et al.,<br />
2005); ATP concentration (Suquet el al., 2010); spermatocrit and sperm<br />
density (Harald et al., 2001; Sørensen et al., 2013); sperm motility (Ottesen<br />
et al., 2009); or sperm morphology and ultrastructure (Marco-Jiménez et<br />
al., 2006; Asturiano et al., 2007; Sadiqul and Akhter, 2011) have been linked<br />
to the ability of sperm to fertilize the ova. Some of these parameters can be<br />
scored relatively easily and are commonly used because no expensive<br />
equipment is needed and they are quick and easy to assess. On the other<br />
hand, other biomarkers need sophisticated laboratory analyses or<br />
expensive equipment, thus at themoment the application of these is not<br />
directly available to fish farms.<br />
On the other hand, despite it having been reported that it is the set of<br />
sperm biomarkers as a whole that contribute to determining sperm quality<br />
and that each one, by itself, is not a single predictive parameter, sperm<br />
motility is currently considered the most useful tool to assess sperm quality<br />
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