Hertwig effect caused by UV-irradiation of sperm of Oryzias latipes (teleost) and its photoreactivation

Abstract

When sperm of the fish Oryzias latipes were irradiated with ultraviolet light and allowed to fertilize normal eggs, the so-called "Hertwig effect" was observed, with a dose-dependent decrease in survival rate at low doses (0-27 J . m-2) but a better survival rate at higher dose ranges. Illumination with visible light after fertilization (10-70 min after insemination) showed the existence of photoreactivation (PR), demonstrating that pyrimidine dimers are a lesion in sperm DNA that is mainly responsible for the UV-caused Hertwig effect. Genetic analysis, in which sperm from a wild-type of this fish was used, showed that, after UV-irradiation at the high dose range, male nuclei did not participate in embryonic development (a gynogenetic haploid condition). Embryos having only a maternal set of chromosomes could develop no further than stage 27. Only the visible light during the early part (until around 20-30 min after insemination, at 25 degrees C) of the single-cell stage was effective for PR; illumination thereafter was not.