Copper (Cu) is an essential metal utilized in aquaculture activities for both nutritional and disease control. Conversely, this metal can present a risk of exposure to biota depending on the used concentration, but data are still scarce and studies to establish the real risk of copper exposure to fish even in aquaculture activities are welcome. To evaluate a set of environmentally realistic doses of inorganic copper and so the potential risk of exposure to reproduction, Oreochromis niloticus were orally exposed to 0.1, 1.0 or 10.0 mg Cu.kg⁻¹ body weight for 60 days (one dose each 10 days). Parameters regarding sperm quality, including viability, membrane integrity, mitochondrial functionality, apoptosis, lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, DNA integrity and motility were considered as signs of reproductive impairment. Additionally, as copper is also described as a pro-oxidant metal, we investigated the oxidative balance in liver (Non-protein reduced thiols concentrations-GSH, superoxide dismutase activity-SOD, lipid peroxidation-LPO, protein carbonylation-PCO and glutathione S-transferase-GST activity). Fishes exposed to copper showed poor sperm quality due to the observed reduced motility and motility period. Induced mitochondrial dysfunction, lipid peroxidation and apoptosis in germ cells, as well as DNA fragmentation confirms the high impairment of Cu to reproduction of O. niloticus exposed to copper in realistic doses. Exposure to the highest dose used in this experiment led to oxidative imbalance in liver, corroborating the deleterious effects of this metal to biological systems. These findings strongly suggest that even under very low Cu doses, or realistic doses as utilized in aquaculture activities, the metal may negatively affect O. niloticus reproduction, probably decreasing the success of aquaculture activities.

铜 (Cu) 是水产养殖活动中用于营养和疾病控制的必需金属。相反，根据所使用的浓度，这种金属可能存在暴露于生物群的风险，但数据仍然稀缺，欢迎研究以确定即使在水产养殖活动中铜暴露于鱼类的真实风险。为了评估一组环境现实剂量的无机铜以及暴露于生殖的潜在风险，Oreochromis niloticus被口服暴露于 0.1、1.0 或 10.0 mg Cu.kg ^-1体重 60 天（每 10 天一剂）。关于精子质量的参数，包括活力、膜完整性、线粒体功能、细胞凋亡、脂质过氧化、蛋白质羰基化、DNA 完整性和运动性，被认为是生殖障碍的迹象。此外，由于铜也被描述为促氧化金属，我们研究了肝脏中的氧化平衡（非蛋白质还原硫醇浓度-GSH、超氧化物歧化酶活性-SOD、脂质过氧化-LPO、蛋白质羰基化-PCO 和谷胱甘肽 S-转移酶-GST 活性）。由于观察到的运动性和运动期降低，暴露于铜的鱼的精子质量较差。生殖细胞中诱导的线粒体功能障碍、脂质过氧化和细胞凋亡以及 DNA 断裂证实了 Cu 对生殖细胞繁殖的严重损害O. niloticus暴露于实际剂量的铜。暴露于本实验中使用的最高剂量导致肝脏氧化失衡，证实了这种金属对生物系统的有害影响。这些发现有力地表明，即使在非常低的铜剂量下，或在水产养殖活动中使用的实际剂量下，金属也可能对尼罗罗非鱼繁殖产生负面影响，可能会降低水产养殖活动的成功率。