Abstract
ABSTRACTBackgroundWide variation in fertility rates is observed when using frozen bull semen, even when the bulls have met quality standards for semen production. Therefore, a simple and reliable test to assess the freezing potential of bull semen based on the analysis of fresh semen or blood would be of great value. Attention is now turning to assessment of seminal plasma components such as proteins and elements. In the present study, the concentrations of macro- and microelements in fresh bull semen plasma and in serum and their correlation with quality characteristics of fresh semen and with semen quality after freezing and thawing were determined. Ejaculates were collected from 30 mature bulls, and semen volume, concentration, sperm motility, morphology, tail membrane integrity, plasma membrane permeability and DNA fragmentation were determined on the day of collection and after freezing and thawing. The concentrations of macroelements (Na, Mg, K and Ca) and microelements (Cu, Fe, Zn and Se) were determined in the seminal plasma and serum. The semen samples were classified into satisfactory and unsatisfactory groups according to the fresh semen quality.ResultsZinc and Se levels measured in serum were associated with almost all fresh and frozen-thawed semen quality characteristics, while Fe levels were associated only with acrosomal defects in fresh semen. Zinc and Fe levels in fresh seminal plasma were associated with various quality characteristics of fresh and frozen-thawed semen, while Se level in fresh seminal plasma was not associated with any of the semen quality characteristics.ConclusionsMicroelements were shown to be useful as biomarkers involved in the analysis of bull sperm quality and could be used as an additional tool to predict bull semen quality after freezing and thawing. Our results confirm that the analysis of Zn and Se levels in serum and Zn, Cu and Fe levels in fresh seminal plasma can provide information to discriminate between bull semen samples with spermatozoa with high or low cryotolerance.
Highlights
Wide variation in fertility rates is observed when using frozen bull semen, even when the bulls have met quality standards for semen production
Elements are known to play an important role in bovine health and reproduction [10], and several studies have shown that element imbalance affects the reproductive performance of bulls and that elements such as calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) are essential for reproduction and that their deficiency can lead to degenerative changes in spermatogenesis [7, 11,12,13]
Routine seminal plasma assessment includes the analysis of some microelements, such as Zn and Se, which are associated with sperm quality because of their antioxidant properties [14, 15]
Summary
Wide variation in fertility rates is observed when using frozen bull semen, even when the bulls have met quality standards for semen production. A simple and reliable test to assess the freezing potential of bull semen based on the analysis of fresh semen or blood would be of great value. The concentrations of macro- and microelements in fresh bull semen plasma and in serum and their correlation with quality characteristics of fresh semen and with semen quality after freezing and thawing were determined. Developing a simple, inexpensive, accurate, precise, and reliable test to assess the freezing potential of bull semen based on the analysis of fresh semen or blood would be of great value. Routine seminal plasma assessment includes the analysis of some microelements, such as Zn and Se, which are associated with sperm quality because of their antioxidant properties [14, 15]
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