Nuestro último artículo, aceptado en Fish Physiology and Biochemistry

Subjective and objective assessment of fish sperm motility: when the technique and technicians matter

V. Gallego, J.G. Herranz-Jusdado, C. Rozenfeld, L. Pérez, J.F. Asturiano

Fish Physiology and Biochemistry, 44(6): 1457-1467. 2018

Abstract

Fish sperm motility is nowadays considered the best sperm quality biomarker in fish, and can be evaluated both by subjective and computerized methods. With the aim to compare the precision and accuracy of both techniques, fish sperm samples were assessed by subjective methods and by a computer assisted sperm analysis (CASA-Mot) system, and simultaneously by three different technicians with different degree of expertise on the sperm quality analysis. Statistical dispersion parameters (CV, coefficient of variation; and RG, range) were estimated in order to determine the precision and accuracy of the techniques and the influence of laboratory staff on sperm motion assessments.

Concerning precision, there were not much significant differences between the technical support staff (high, medium, and low experimented technician), and statistical dispersion parameters were quite similar between them independently of the technique used and the sperm motility class analyzed. However, concerning accuracy, experimented technician reported subjective motility values very closed to the values provided by the CASA-Mot system, only 10 percentage points away from the data provided by a CASA-Mot system. However, medium and low-experimented technicians often overestimate the CASA-Mot values, and amplitudes up to 30 percentage points were detected in several sperm assessments.

To sum up, both the technique (subjective or objective) and the technician (degree of expertise) became key factors in order to reach accurate motility estimations, so the use of both qualified staff and novel CASA-Mot systems seem to be a critical requirement for obtaining satisfying results in fish species with similar motility patterns.

Seminario en el Instituto de Acuicultura de Torre de la Sal

Ayer tuve el placer de participar en el V Ciclo de Seminarios del Instituto de Acuicultura de Torre de la Sal (CSIC) con una conferencia titulada: Avances en la reproducción de la anguila europea. ¿En qué punto estamos?

Como siempre, fue un placer volver al centro donde hice mi Tesis Doctoral, y tener como público a un buen número de amigos y jóvenes estudiantes. Gracias!.

Nuestro último artículo, aceptado en Reviews in Aquaculture

Fish sperm motility assessment as a tool for aquaculture research, a historical approach

V. Gallego, J.F. Asturiano

Abstract

Fish sperm motility is nowadays considered the best biomarker for the quality of fish spermatozoa, and sperm motion parameters from more than 300 fish species have been reported in 1500 scientific articles covering a wide range of topics, from molecular biology to ecology. The most studied topics have been i) the sperm storage (involving both the use of chilled-storage protocols for short-term periods, and sperm cryopreservation techniques for long-term storage), ii) the sperm physiology (fathom in the spermatozoa activation process and the whole propulsion machinery of the sperm cells), and iii) the broodstock management (covering aspects such as rearing conditions, dietary requirements or hormonal induction treatments). In addition, other aquaculture and ecological topics such as iv) the knowledge of the breeding cycle of the species, v) the phenomenon of the sperm competition, and vi) ecotoxicological studies for the evaluation of aquatic environments, have also been approached from the evaluation of sperm motion performance.

Therefore fish sperm motility assessment can serve as a potential tool for aquaculture and ecological purposes, covering key topics of fundamental and applied research. This review gives an overview of the major research areas in which fish sperm motility have been applied successfully.