Effects of dietary supplementation of multi-strain probiotics on semen quality, seminal plasma compositions, and fertilization ability of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) broodstock spermatozoa

Abstract

The present experiment aims to study the effects of dietary multi-strain probiotics on semen quality, seminal plasma compositions, and fertilization ability of male rainbow trout. For this purpose, a total of 48 broodstocks with an average initial weight of 1366.1±33.8g were divided into 4 groups and 3 replicates. Fish were fed with diets containing 0 (control), 1×109 (P1), 2×109 (P2), and 4×109 (P3) CFU probiotic kg-1 diet for 12 weeks. Results showed that dietary supplementation of probiotics significantly increased plasma testosterone level, motility time of spermatozoa, sperm density, and spermatocrit value in P2 and P3 treatments and Na+ level in P2 treatment compared to the control group (P<0.05). The activities of aspartate aminotransferase and lactate dehydrogenase had significantly decreased in the P2 treatment compared to the control group (P<0.05). No considerable variations were observed between control fish and treatment groups (P>0.05) in semen biochemical parameters, percentage of motile spermatozoa, osmolality, and pH of seminal plasma. Based on the results, the highest fertilization rate (97.2±0.9%) and eyed egg survival (95.7±1.6%) were observed in the P2 treatment, and those values showed remarkable differences with the control group (P<0.05). The results indicated that multi-strain probiotics have potential efficacy on semen quality and fertilization ability of rainbow trout broodstock spermatozoa.