Competition of zinc, cadmium and calcium for binding sites in sperm of trout and carp

Abstract

Heavy metal pollutions of aquatic ecosystems have already raised many concerns on aquaticorganisms'health and survival especially on their sperm. The effects of a single metal on sperm may be totallydifferent from cocktail of several metals because of their interactions, so the effects of zinc, cadmium andcalcium on the trout and carp sperms and their competition have been examined by incubation of differentconcentrations of cold heavy metals with a radioactive competing metal. The results showed that radioactive65Zn and 109Cd were not displaced from the trout sperm by calcium even at 3000 ppm concentration butradioactive cadmium was displaced equally well by cadmium or zinc, with a decrease in pellet activity to 38and 37% of control values (0 ppm concentration) at 3000 ppm concentration, respectively in trout. Calciumwas replaced by non-radioactive and radioactive zinc and cadmium as well as by calcium. The findingsconfirmed that at least part of heavy metals toxicity (especially cadmium) on fish sperm could be due todisplacement of essential zinc and calcium. Both trout and carp sperms showed a similar pattern.