Assessment of semen quality in freshwater mussel Unio elongatulus eucirrus: analysis of sperm motility, morphometry, and pH
Abstract
The freshwater mussel (Unio elongatulus eucirrus), native to the Euphrates River basin in Türkiye, holds little economic value; however, it plays an important ecological role in natural aquatic ecosystems. Consequently, understanding its biology particularly its reproductive traits, such as semen quality, sperm motility, and morphology is of scientific interest. This study aimed to investigate several reproductive parameters in 10 male specimens of this species, including sperm concentration, seminal pH, motility characteristics, and sperm morphometry. Sperm kinematics were assessed using a computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system. The results showed the following sperm velocity values: straight- line velocity (VSL: 40.75 ± 6.01 μm/s), curvilinear velocity (VCL: 103.00 ± 2.62 μm/s), and average path velocity (VAP: 54.24 ± 6.75 μm/s). Sperm morphometry, analyzed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), revealed a head length of 3.90 ± 0.11 μm, head width of 1.70 ± 0.17 μm, and tail length of 37.64 ± 0.45 μm. Regarding the physicochemical parameters, the seminal pH was 6.25 ± 0.26, and sperm concentration was 15.48 ± 0.53 × 109 cells/mL. These results indicate that the morphological and kinematic characteristics of freshwater mussel (Unio elongatulus eucirrus) spermatozoa are quite like those observed in other mussel and fish species. However, it was determined that spermatozoa are easily activated upon contact with water.
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References
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