Oxidative Stress-Related Semen Quality and Fertility in the Male Arabian Yellowfin Sea Bream (Acanthopagrus arabicus) Fed a Selenium Nanoparticle-Supplemented Plant Protein-Rich Diet

Abstract

A three-month research was conducted to evaluate the influence of supplementing a plant protein- (PP-) rich diet (60% of fish meal (FM) was replaced with a mixture of alternative PP sources) with selenium nanoparticles (Se-N) on sperm kinetics, fertilization capacity, and antioxidative responses in Arabian yellowfin sea bream (Acanthopagrus arabicus) males. In this point, graded levels of Se-N at 0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mg/kg were added to the PP-rich diet. Also, a FM-based diet was used as a positive control. Two hundred and eighty-eight brooders (males: <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><a:mn>195.3</a:mn><a:mo>±</a:mo><a:mn>10.8</a:mn></a:math> g and females: <c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"><c:mn>237.5</c:mn><c:mo>±</c:mo><c:mn>8.1</c:mn></c:math> g; <e:math xmlns:e="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"><e:mtext>mean</e:mtext><e:mo>±</e:mo><e:mtext>standard</e:mtext><e:mtext> </e:mtext><e:mtext>error</e:mtext></e:math> ) were randomly distributed into eighteen 10 m3 rectangular concrete tanks (8 males: 8 females in each tank), and every three tanks were fed with one of the experimental feeds for three months. The seawater temperature and salinity were 18-22°C and 40-41‰, respectively, during the husbandry period. Selenium retention increased in the liver, testes, and semen of males with increasing dietary Se-N level ( <g:math xmlns:g="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"><g:mi>P</g:mi><g:mo>&lt;</g:mo><g:mn>0.05</g:mn></g:math> ). Sperm density in fish fed with 2 mg Se-N/kg PP-rich diet ( <i:math xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"><i:mn>42.1</i:mn><i:mo>×</i:mo><i:msup><i:mrow><i:mn>10</i:mn></i:mrow><i:mrow><i:mn>9</i:mn></i:mrow></i:msup><i:mo>/</i:mo><i:mtext>mL</i:mtext></i:math> ) was higher than those fed control, 0, 0.5, and 1 mg Se-N/kg PP-rich diets. The percentages of sperm motility in 60 s and 300 s after activation, sperms with straight movement, the longevity of sperm motility, and fertilization rate increased with increasing Se-N level in the PP-rich diets ( <k:math xmlns:k="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M6"><k:mi>P</k:mi><k:mo>&lt;</k:mo><k:mn>0.05</k:mn></k:math> ). The highest and lowest semen superoxide dismutase activities were in fish fed 4 and 2 mg Se-N/kg PP-rich diets, respectively. The highest glutathione peroxidase activity in semen was in fish fed 4 mg Se-N/kg PP-rich diet, and the lowest values were in fish fed 0 and 0.5 mg Se-N/kg PP-rich diets. Total antioxidant capacity values in semen of fish fed 1 and 4 mg Se-N/kg PP-rich diets were higher than the other treatments. Fish fed with PP-rich diet without any Se-N supplementation had higher malondialdehyde level in the semen compared to the other groups. Results showed that supplementing PP-rich diet with 2-4 mg Se-N/kg can improve sperm kinetics and enhance fertility potential in A. arabicus males.