43 CORRELATIONS OF METHODS OF SPERM ANALYSIS IN FRESH SEMEN OF SOUTH AFRICAN INDIGENOUS GOAT

Abstract

This study investigated the correlations between methods of assessing sperm qualities; namely, sperm total motility (TM), sperm vitality, acrosome integrity, DNA integrity, and sperm membrane integrity. A total of 60 ejaculates from 6 bucks were collected and the spermatozoa evaluated. The overall mean percentages of sperm TM, sperm vitality (eosin-nigrosin and propidium iodide stains), sperm acrosome integrity (Spermac and SpermBlue® stains), sperm DNA integrity (acridine orange and halotech), and sperm membrane integrity (hypoosmotic swelling test and water test) were 94.7 ± 0.5, 81.0 ± 0.6. 79.6 ± 3.7, 79.7 ± 1.8, 78.6 ± 5.3, 75.7 ± 5.5, 74.3 ± 5.1, 73.1 ± 3.5, and 73.4 ± 3.6, respectively. There were significant correlations (P < 0.05) between mean percentage live sperm evaluated with eosin-nigrosin stain and sperm TM (r = 0.813), between percentage intact acrosome assessed with SpermBlue® and sperm TM (r = 0.846), and between SpermBlue® and eosin-nigrosin (r = 0.965). There were highly significant correlations (P < 0.01) between sperm membrane integrity evaluated with HOS test and sperm TM (r = 0.871), between percentage of intact sperm DNA assessed with halotech and SpermBlue® (r = 0.832), and between percentage of intact spermatozoa DNA assessed with acridine orange and percentage intact acrosome evaluated with spermac stain (r = 0.862). Under the conditions of this study, the correlated methods of sperm analysis proved suitable for analysis of goat spermatozoa and can serve as useful indicator of potential fertility for sperm. They could be used for accurate assessment of the individual sperm cell rather the population as a whole. Motility, eosin-nigrosin stain, SpermBlue®, halotech and acridine orange stain still remain practical and valuable tools for predicting sperm fertilizing ability.