Reproductive status, antioxidant defences and lipid peroxidation in Octopus tehuelchus (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) females

ORTIZ, NICOLÁS; RÍOS DE MOLINA, MARÍA DEL CARMEN; FASSIANO, ANABELLA V.

JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY

TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

Año: 2017 p. 1 - 16

0022-2933

As in other semelparous cephalopods, Octopus tehuelchus femalesenter a senescent state after spawning. In several taxa, damage tomacromolecules that result from an imbalance between antioxidantdefences and the production of reactive oxygen species (i.e. oxidativestress) has been postulated as one of the physiological costs ofreproduction and one factor that contributes to ageing. In thiswork, we evaluate whether enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidantdefences are conditioned by reproductive status in O. tehuelchusobtained from a wild population. The main antioxidantdefences, catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), reducedgluthation (GSH) and lipid peroxidation (TBARS), were assessed insomatic and reproductive tissues from octopus females, at immature,mature and spent stages. Oviducal glands showed an increasein TBARS that coincides with a decrease in GSH when females reacha spent stage. No significant changes were observed in the assayedparameters on the ovary wall, digestive gland, mantle and gillsalong maturity stages. CAT activity was undetectable in most analysedtissues, SOD activity and GSH were similar to or lower than inother cephalopods, while average TBARS levels in somatic tissueswere at least one order of magnitude higher than levels found inother molluscs. Our results show that during sexual maturation andafter natural oxidative stress conditions (spawning), only oviducalglands show changes that can be linked with the physiologicalprocesses of different reproductive status. The low antioxidantdefences and the flat protective reactions after spawning could beassociated with the semelparous life history of this species.