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Degradation of mitochondrial DNA in cryoprotectant-treated hard coral (Echinopora spp.) oocytes

  • Sujune Tsai
    ,
  • Jiann-Chu Chen
    ,
  • Emma Spikings
    ,
  • Jan-Jung Li
    ,
  • Chiahsin Lin
  • MingDao University
    ,
  • National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, Taiwan
    ,
  • National Dong Hwa University
Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Abstract

A critical step for successful cryopreservation is to determine the optimal cryoprotectant treatment that can provide protective effects against cryoinjury during freezing and with minimal toxicity. Most cryoprotectants have chemical and osmotic effects when used at high concentrations. Cryoprotectants can damage coral mitochondrial distributions and membrane potentials, which results in reduced ATP production. As mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) encodes for components of the electron transport chain (ETC) and plays a critical role in ATP synthesis capacity, we determined the effects of cryoprotectants on mtDNA in hard coral (Echinopora spp.) oocytes using quantitative real-time PCR. Our results showed that an insult from a cryoprotectant may be compensated for by the genetic defense mechanisms of these cells. Methanol was found to have the least effect on coral oocytes with regard to their energy status. A single oocyte without cryoprotectant treatment produced an average of 4,220,645 ± 169,990 mtDNA copies, which was greater than that in mammals. However, relatively lower mtDNA copy numbers (<2,000,000) were observed when oocytes were treated with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), propylene glycol (PG), ethylene glycol (EG), or glycerol at a concentration of 3 M for 20 min. These results provide direct evidence that hard coral (Echinopora spp.) oocytes are extremely susceptible to cryoprotectants and support the concerns with regard to the adverse effects of cryoprotectants.

Publication Information

Output type

Research Output: Contribution to journal Article Peer-review

Original language

English

Pages from-to (Number of pages)

Pages 420-425

Journal (Volume, Issue Number)

Mitochondrial DNA (Volume 26, Issue 3)

Publication milestones

  • Published - 01/06/2015

Publication status

Published - 01/06/2015

ISSN

1940-1736

External Publication IDs

  • handle.net: 10547/560930
  • Scopus: 84930894543

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