Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Quantification of Heavy Metals and Other Inorganic Contaminants on the Productivity of Microalgae
Published on: July 10, 2015
Sperm Morphology and Motility of Bufo raddei Under Long-Term Environmental Heavy Metal Stress
Rui Guo1, Wenya Zhang2, Ying Yang1
1Gansu Key Laboratory of Biomonitoring and Bioremediation for Environmental Pollution, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, Tianshui South Road 222, Lanzhou, 730000, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
The present study aimed to investigate the effects of environmental heavy metals on sperm morphology and motility of Bufo raddei. We collected B. raddei from Baiyin (BY) and Liujiaxia (LJX); BY is an area heavily polluted by heavy metals, while LJX is a relatively unpolluted area. Significant accumulations of copper, zinc, lead and cadmium were observed in B. raddei from BY, together with relatively smaller sperm size and higher sperm abnormality rate. Unexpectedly, sperm velocity, percentages of sperm motility and viability of B. raddei from BY were significantly higher than those from LJX. Similarly, when sperm was suspended in heavy metal solutions, sperm velocity, percentages of sperm motility and viability significantly increased compared with those suspended in distilled water. These results indicate that environmental heavy metal stress may decrease sperm size, meanwhile enhance sperm motility through increasing the ratio of head length to total sperm length of B. raddei.
Related Concept Videos
Sperm Transport
The maturation phase occurs in the epididymis, where sperm...
Bonding in Metals
Metallic Solids
All metallic solids exhibit high thermal and electrical conductivity, metallic luster, and malleability....
Alkali Metals
Table 1: Properties of the alkali metals
Metal-Ligand Bonds
In these complexes, transition metals form coordinate covalent bonds, a kind of Lewis acid-base interaction in which both of the electrons in the bond are contributed by a donor (Lewis base) to an electron acceptor (Lewis acid). The Lewis acid in...
Responses to Heat and Cold Stress

