SEMEN OF THE FRESHWATER SHRMP MACROBRACHIUM IDELLA : A BIOCHEMICAL STUDY

Semen of Macrobrachium idella has a density of 1.082 and is slightly alkaline (pH 7.3). Male genital ducts are filled with semen almost round the year. Protein is the chief organic constituent of the semen (17.6 mg/ml) during the breeding season in intermoult shrimps. TCA precipitable seminal proteins undergo wide quantitative variations depending upon the season and moulting stage of the animal. The quantity of oligosaccharides and polysaccharides is roughly about a quarter of the Seminal protein and that of chloroform-extractable lipids is less than that of polysaccharides. Free amino acid content of the semen is remarkably low in M. idella (0.14 mg/ml).