Ovarian inseminated sperm impacts spawning success in zebrafish, Danio rerio (Hamilton, 1822) even in the absence of a male stimulus

Gyöngyi Gazsi; Ian A E Butts; Vahid Zadmajid; Bence Ivánovics; Luca Ruffilli; Béla Urbányi; Zsolt Csenki; Tamás Müller

doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2021.07.012

Ovarian inseminated sperm impacts spawning success in zebrafish, Danio rerio (Hamilton, 1822) even in the absence of a male stimulus

Theriogenology. 2021 Sep 15:172:315-321. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2021.07.012. Epub 2021 Jul 19.

Authors

Gyöngyi Gazsi¹, Ian A E Butts², Vahid Zadmajid³, Bence Ivánovics¹, Luca Ruffilli⁴, Béla Urbányi⁵, Zsolt Csenki¹, Tamás Müller⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Environmental Toxicology, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gödöllő, 2100, Gödöllő, Páter K. U.1, Hungary.
² School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA.
³ Department of Fisheries Science, Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Kurdistan, P.O. Box 416, Sanandaj, Iran.
⁴ Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Bologna University, Viale Vespucci 2, 47042, Cesenatico, FC, Italy.
⁵ Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gödöllő, 2100, Gödöllő, Páter K. U.1, Hungary.
⁶ Department of Freshwater Fish Ecology, Institute of Aquaculture and Environmental Safety, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Gödöllő, 2100, Gödöllő, Páter K. U.1, Hungary. Electronic address: muller.tamas@uni-mate.hu.

PMID: 34329927
DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2021.07.012

Abstract

Reproductive obstacles have led scientists to develop novel techniques/technologies for artificial reproduction. We aimed to investigate the possibility of propagating zebrafish females using sperm ovarian lavage with and without presence of male stimulus. This experiment consisted of several treatments: traditional spawning approaches with females and wild-type males (AB♀ × AB♂); no males present with non-manipulated females (AB♀); no males present with females inseminated with NaCl into ovarian lobes [AB♀(inj.NaCl)]; no males present with females inseminated with sperm from transgenic males into ovarian lobes [AB♀(inj.Tg♂)]; non-manipulated females kept separately from wild-type males (AB♀|AB♂); females kept separately from wild-type males and inseminated with NaCl into ovarian lobes [AB♀(inj.NaCl)|AB♂]; and females kept separately from wild-type males and inseminated with sperm from transgenic males into ovarian lobes [AB♀(inj.Tg♂)|AB♂]. There were no released eggs in both negative control treatments (AB♀ and AB♀|AB♂). Egg production increased (ranged from 0 to 28.5 eggs/female) when females were injected in the presence [AB♀ (inj.NaCl) |AB♂] or absence of male stimulus [AB♀ (inj.NaCl) and (AB♀(inj.Tg♂)]. A further increase in egg production [relative to AB♀, AB♀ (inj.NaCl), and AB♀|AB♂] was detected when females were inseminated with pooled sperm from transgenic males in the presence of male stimulus [AB♀(inj.Tg♂)|AB♂; ranged from 2.5 to 55 eggs/female] or when using traditional spawning approaches (AB♀ × AB♂; ranged from 25 to 131 eggs/female). Females inseminated with sperm produced embryos, although no differences were detected when females were inseminated with pooled sperm from transgenic males in presence (11.8 ± 16.3%) or absence (average = 12.6 ± 9.2%) of male stimulus. Traditional spawning approaches produced the most eggs (81.2 ± 42.3 per female) and highest fertilization rate (81.3 ± 10.4).

Keywords: Artificial reproduction; Ovarian lavage; Sperm injection; Sperm insemination; Zebrafish.

MeSH terms

Animals
Animals, Genetically Modified
Female
Male
Ovary
Reproduction
Spermatozoa*
Zebrafish*