Drosophila melanogaster Sperm under Simulated Microgravity and a Hypomagnetic Field: Motility and Cell Respiration.

Irina V Ogneva,Vladimir N Sychev,Nikolay S Biryukov,Maria V Burtseva,Yuliya S Zhdankina,Maria A Usik,Oleg I Orlov

doi:10.3390/ijms21175985

Abstract

The role of the Earth’s gravitational and magnetic fields in the evolution and maintenance of normal processes of various animal species remains unclear. The aim of this work was to determine the effect of simulated microgravity and hypomagnetic conditions for 1, 3, and 6 h on the sperm motility of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. In addition to the usual diet, the groups were administered oral essential phospholipids at a dosage of 500 mg/kg in medium. The speed of the sperm tails was determined by video recording and analysis of the obtained video files, protein content by western blotting, and cell respiration by polarography. The results indicated an increase in the speed of movement of the sperm tails after 6 h in simulated microgravity. The levels of proteins that form the axoneme of the sperm tail did not change, but cellular respiration was altered. A similar effect occurred with the administration of essential phospholipids. These results may be due to a change in the level of phosphorylation of motor proteins. Exposure to hypomagnetic conditions led to a decrease in motility after 6 h against a background of a decrease in the rate of cellular respiration due to complex I of the respiratory chain. This effect was not observed in the flies that received essential phospholipids. However, after 1 h under hypomagnetic conditions, the rate of cellular respiration also increased due to complex I, including that in the sperm of flies receiving essential phospholipids.

Highlights

The prospect of human exploration of deep space indicates the need to answer questions related to the role of various physical factors in the development and maintenance of the viability of the species
The following specific primary monoclonal antibodies were used at the dilutions recommended by the manufacturers to determine the levels of each protein: mouse antibodies against cytochrome c-1 (MW 13.5 kDa, 5 μg/mL, Abcam, Cambridge, UK, #ab13575), cytochrome c oxidase (MW 16 kDa, 1 μg/mL, Abcam, UK, #ab14744), ATP synthase F1 (MW 56 kDa, 1 μg/mL, Abcam, UK, #ab14748), gapdh (MW 37 kDa, diluted 1:1000, Abm, Canada, #G041), rabbit antibodies against alphaTub84 (MW 50 kDa, diluted 1:1000, Abcam, UK, #ab52866), betaTub56D (MW 50 kDa, diluted 1:1000, Abcam, UK, #ab179513), and CCT4 (MW 56kDa, 1.25 μg/mL, Abcam, UK, #ab49151)
We attempted to analyze the earliest effects of sperm perception of a change in two fundamental physical fields under which evolution occurred

Summary

Introduction

The prospect of human exploration of deep space indicates the need to answer questions related to the role of various physical factors in the development and maintenance of the viability of the species. In Japanese quail embryos under space flight, there was a lag in the development of the spinal cord, in mass gain, and in an increase in body size [4,5]. In animals in the flight group, accelerated development of the thyroid and parathyroid glands, a decrease in the rate of cell division in the thymus, and changes in the nervous tissue with a decrease in the number of neurons in the brain and spinal cord were observed [7,8]

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