Toxicity of copper pollution on sperm quality of Cyprinus carpio

Abstract

Water pollution by heavy metal waste from industry, agriculture, and other human activities affect the reproductive health of aquatic biota, especially freshwater fish. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of Cyprinus carpio sperm contaminated with copper (Cu). The sample used was gonad from mature fish. The sperm and eggs were taken by stripping, six times of repetition. Cu with a concentration of 0, 10, 25, 50, and 75 ppm were used to examine the sperm quality (duration of motility and viability, DNA fragmentation, malondialdehyde level) and the ability of sperm to fertilize. The data was collected after sperm incubation with the variation of Cu concentration for five seconds. The sperm observation was done under inverted and fluorescence microscopes. The results showed that Cu exposure caused fertilization failure, thus reducing the number of fertilized eggs. The increase of Cu concentration from 10 ppm to 25 ppm caused a decrease in sperm quality and sperm fertilization. The increase in Cu concentration also raised the percentage of DNA fragmentation. In conclusion, in vitro exposure of Cu reduced sperm motility and viability as well as reduced the fertility in Cyprinus carpio