Sperm duct gland contents increase sperm velocity in the sand goby

Sperm performance is often tightly linked to male reproductive success. In many demersal gobiid fishes, the male attaches sperm embedded in a mucus produced by sperm duct glands, to the nest substrate before spawning takes place. Sperm are activated as the mucus and other embedded gland contents dissolve into the water. To test the importance of gland content on sperm function in Pomatoschistus minutus, a marine fish with external fertilization, we used a paired experimental design, with spermatozoa tested with and without sperm duct gland contents mixed into seawater. We measured sperm velocity, percentage motile sperm and sperm viability over time. Sperm were found to swim 7.3% faster when gland contents were mixed in the seawater. Percentage motile sperm was unaffected by the gland contents. Sperm viability in seawater exceeded 24 h, but was unaffected by the gland contents. An increase in sperm velocity of similar magnitude as found here has been shown by others to increase reproduc...

精子性能通常与雄性繁殖成功率密切相关。在许多底栖鰕虎鱼（demersal gobiid fishes）中，雄性会在产卵前将包裹于输精腺（sperm duct glands）分泌黏液中的精子附着到巢基质上。当黏液及其他包裹的腺体分泌物溶解于水中时，精子被激活。为验证腺体分泌物对小吻鰕虎鱼（Pomatoschistus minutus，一种体外受精（external fertilization）的海洋鱼类）精子功能的重要性，我们采用配对实验设计，分别测试了海水中添加与未添加输精腺分泌物时的精子状态。我们随时间测量了精子速度、活动精子百分比及精子活力（sperm viability）。结果发现，添加腺体分泌物的海水中，精子游动速度快了7.3%。活动精子百分比不受腺体分泌物影响。海水中精子活力可持续超过24小时，但不受腺体分泌物影响。已有研究表明，与此处发现的幅度相似的精子速度提升可提高繁殖...