Abstract
The respiration of rabbit sperm was measured by a Clarke type electrode which has two advantages over the conventional Warburg technique, greater sensitivity, and no necessity for a carbon dioxide-free atmosphere. It was not necessary to resaturate the sample chamber of the oxygen monitor with air, down to about 30% desaturation. Rabbit seminal plasma had a measurable oxygen uptake (0.6 μl/hr/ml) but this was much less than for human seminal plasma (4.3 μl/hr/ml). Hoderate dilution of the sperm and storing the semen at 0°C after slow cooling had no effect on oxygen uptake. Unlike those of most other species, rabbit sperm were also little affected by deliberate exposure to cold shock and the respiration before and after rapid cooling to 0°C was about the same. On the other hand very brief exposure of rabbit sperm to 65°C abolished motility and greatly reduced the respiration rate. Bicarbonate (6 mM) stimulated the oxygen uptake of freshly collected samples of rabbit sperm after washing. Increasing the phosphate concentration of the medium to 80 mM did not greatly depress the oxygen uptake.
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