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Morphological reproductive characteristics of testes and fertilization capacity of cryopreserved sperm after the Fukushima accident in raccoon ( Procyon lotor )
Author(s) -
Komatsu Kazuki,
Iwasaki Tsugumi,
Murata Kosuke,
Yamashiro Hideaki,
Goh Valerie Swee Ting,
Nakayama Ryo,
Fujishima Yohei,
Ono Takumi,
Kino Yasushi,
Simizu Yoshinaka,
Takahashi Atsushi,
Shinoda Hisashi,
Ariyoshi Kentaro,
Kasai Kosuke,
Suzuki Masatoshi,
Palmerini Maria Grazia,
Belli Manuel,
Macchiarelli Guido,
Oka Toshitaka,
Fukumoto Manabu,
Yoshida Mitsuaki A.,
Nakata Akifumi,
Miura Tomisato
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
reproduction in domestic animals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.546
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1439-0531
pISSN - 0936-6768
DOI - 10.1111/rda.13887
Subject(s) - sperm , human fertilization , biology , andrology , spermatogenesis , cryopreservation , fukushima nuclear accident , embryo , anatomy , botany , fishery , endocrinology , medicine , nuclear power plant , physics , nuclear physics
Since the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP) accident, we have established an archive system of livestock and wild animals from the surrounding ex‐evacuation zone. Wildlife within the alert zone have been exposed to low‐dose‐rate (LDR) radiation for a long continuous time. In this study, we analysed the morphological characteristics of the testes and in vitro fertilization (IVF) capacity of cryopreserved sperm of racoons from the ex‐evacuation zone of the FDNPP accident. The radioactivity of caesium‐137 ( 137 Cs) was measured by gamma‐ray spectrometry, and the measured radioactivity concentration was 300–6,630 Bq/kg in the Fukushima raccoons. Notably, normal spermatogenesis was observed in the seminiferous tubules of the testes, with the germinal epithelium composed of a spermatogenic cell lineage with no evident ultrastructural alterations; freeze‐thawing sperm penetration ability was confirmed using the interspecific zona pellucida‐free mouse oocytes IVF assays. This study revealed that the chronic and LDR radiation exposure associated with the FDNPP accident had no adverse effect on the reproductive characteristics and functions of male raccoons.