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Xenopus spermatozoon: is there any correlation between motility and oxygen consumption?
G Bernardini1, P Belgiojoso, M Camatini
1Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Milano, Italy.
Abstract:
The motility status of Xenopus laevis spermatozoa does not affect their respiration rate. Oxygen consumption for 10(9) spermatozoa is approximately 0.4 mumol/minute. Oxygen consumption is not increased by gramicidin D, an uncoupler, and it is not blocked by KCN or NaN3. The adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content of spermatozoa that have been activated is definitely less than that in the spermatozoa that remained immotile. Incubation in KCN, NaN3, and gramicidin decreases the ATP content and impairs motility. The conclusions of the present study are that in Xenopus spermatozoa motility and oxygen consumption are not correlated, and the composition of the respiratory chain of these spermatozoa presents noteworthy peculiarities.