Predicting fertility from sperm motility landscapes

Abstract

Understanding the organisational principles of sperm motility has both evolutionary and applied impact. The emergence of computer aided systems in this field came with the promise of automated quantification and classification, potentially improving our understanding of the determinants of reproductive success. Yet, nowadays the relationship between sperm variability and fertility remains unclear. Here, we characterize pig sperm motility using t-SNE, an embedding method adequate to study behavioural variability. T-SNE reveals a hierarchical organization of sperm motility across ejaculates and individuals, enabling accurate fertility predictions by means of Bayesian logistic regression. Our results show that sperm motility features, like high-speed and straight-lined motion, correlate positively with fertility and are more relevant than other sources of variability. We propose the combined use of embedding methods with Bayesian inference frameworks in order to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between fertility and sperm motility in animals, including humans.

Reduction of cryopreservation‐induced structural, functional and molecular damages in ram sperm by hydrated C60 fullerene

“…In CASA systems, along with motility, speed (VCL, VSL and VAP) and linearity (LIN, STR and WOB) analyses can also be done objectively. It has been reported that motility, sperm velocity and linearity are associated with fertility, especially high values of VCL, VSL, VAP, LIN, STR, WOB and ALH have an important role in fertility success (Fernandez‐Lopez et al., 2022). C 60 HyFn supplementation has been suggested to prevent damages in motility, morphology, membrane functionality and viability in liquid‐stored (Özer Kaya et al., 2021) and frozen–thawed (Güngör et al., 2022) ram sperm by diminishing the imbalance in the oxidant–antioxidant system.…”

Effect of two animal protein-free extenders on cryopreservation of Pelibuey and Blackbelly ram semen

“…(49,(50)(51)(52) Mass motility, in particular, is useful in ram semen motility assessment due to its correlation to in vivo sperm fertilizing capacity. (53) In addition, it has been shown that sperm motility is a convincing indicator of fertility in boar (54) and human. (55) Mitochondrial activity is related to sperm motility and has been associated to the ability of spermatozoa to fertilize oocytes.…”

A comprehensive investigation of human endogenous retroviral syncytin proteins and their receptors in men with normozoospermia and impaired semen quality

“…On the other hand, the relationship between the degree of motility and the reproductive outcomes should also be emphasized. Sources of variability in sperm motility are found at different levels such as between sperm cells, ejaculates (from the same individual) and individuals [ 85 ]. It is also known that oxidative stress increases in samples with low sperm motility [ 86 ], and motility shows an inverse relationship with DNA fragmentation [ 87 , 88 ].…”