Abstract
The study aimed at evaluating the testicular structure and spermatogenesis of Santa Inês and Santa Inês and Dorper crossbred sheep. Sixteen testicles of the animals under study were used, in order to evaluate the volumetric proportion, the diameter of the tubules, the height of seminiferous epithelium, the frequency of stages of the seminiferous epithelium cycle and the spermatogenic yield. The data were submitted to Student-Newman-Keulstestat 5% significance. The tubular diameter was 173.12 ± 29.09 μm and 185.71 ± 29.7 μm, and the height of the seminiferous epithelium was 52.29 ± 9.98 μm and 56.68 ± 11.25 μm, for the crossbred and the Santa Inês, respectively. There was no difference between the testicular compartments and the frequency of the stages of the seminiferous epithelium cycle between the groups. Santa Inês sheep presented a number of 15.36 ± 4.49 spermatocytes in the pre-leptotene/leptotene stage and 27.42 ± 6.65 spermatocytes in the pachytene, whereas the crossbred presented 13.18 ± 5.19 and 23.48 ± 7.80, respectively. The crossbred showed higher meiotic yield (3.98 ± 1.28) and spermatogenesis yield (3.71 ± 1.02). It is concluded there are differences in testicular morphology and spermatogenesis between Santa Inês sheep and crossbred Dorper/Santa Inês, indicating that the crossbreeding between the Santa Inês and Dorper animals allows a gain in the reproductive potential.
Highlights
The knowledge of the reproductive function has been pointed as a fundamental factor for the establishment of adequate management programs (Nunes et al, 2013)
It is possible to verify that no statistical difference was found between the group’s body weight, testicular weight, Gonadosomatic Index and for the volume of testicular compartments
In relation to the corrected values of cells in stage 1 of the seminiferous epithelium cycle for the two groups studied, it was observed that the values of the cell types: spermatogonia, rounded spermatids and Sertoli cells were statistically similar
Summary
The knowledge of the reproductive function has been pointed as a fundamental factor for the establishment of adequate management programs (Nunes et al, 2013). The yield of the spermatogenic process, obtained through the numerical ratios of the spermatogenic cells and through the sections of seminiferous tubule, allows the evaluation of the productive capacity of spermatozoa This variation is considered a fundamental variable for the determination of males destined for reproduction, in order to know in which cellular phases occur the losses, conceding the estimation of the percentage of these cells and the comparison between the species (Assis Neto et al, 2003; Costa et al, 2004; Nunes et al, 2013)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
