Relationship between in vitro sperm functional assessments, seminal plasma composition, and field fertility after AI with either non-sorted or sex-sorted bull semen

Holden, S.A.; Fernández-Fuertes, Beatriz; Murphy, Craig; Whelan, Helena; O’Gorman, Aoife; Brennan, Lorraine; Butler, Stephanie; Lonergan, Patrick; Fair, Seán

doi:10.1016/j.theriogenology.2016.08.024

Cited by 42 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Abundances of Lleucine and ornithine differed between the fertility groups, and the levels of fructose were correlated with those of glutamic acid and amino-butyrolactone (Velho et al, 2018). In other studies, researchers have determined different numbers of amino acids and peptides, in seminal plasma of bull, where glutamic and aspartic acid were the most abundant, and were associated with fertility and pregnancy rates (al-Hakim et al, 1970;Holden et al, 2017). Also, seminal plasma of human and other species were found to contain large numbers of amino acids (Engel et al, 2019;Santiago-Moreno et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amino Acids of Seminal Plasma Associated With Freezability of Bull Sperm

Ugur

Hitit

Kaya

et al. 2020

Front. Cell Dev. Biol.

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Sperm cryopreservation is an important technique for fertility management, but postthaw viability of sperm differs among breeding bulls. With metabolites being the end products of various metabolic pathways, the contributions of seminal plasma metabolites to sperm cryopreservation are still unknown. These gaps in the knowledge base are concerning because they prevent advances in the fundamental science of cryobiology and improvement of bull fertility. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that seminal plasma amino acids are associated with freezability of bull sperm. To accomplish this objective, amino acid concentrations in seminal plasma from seven bulls of good freezability (GF) and six bulls of poor freezability (PF) were quantified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Multivariate and univariate analyses were performed to identify potential freezability biomarkers. Pathways and networks analyses of identified amino acids were performed using bioinformatic tools. By analyzing and interpreting the results we demonstrated that glutamic acid was the most abundant amino acid in bull seminal plasma with average concentration of 3,366 ± 547.3 nM, which accounts for about 53% of total amino acids. The other most predominant amino acids were alanine, glycine, and aspartic acid with the mean concentrations of 1,053 ± 187.9, 429.8 ± 57.94, and 427 ± 101.3 nM. Pearson's correlation analysis suggested that phenylalanine concentration was significantly associated with post-thaw viability (r = 0.57, P-value = 0.043). Significant correlations were also found among other amino acids. In addition, partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) bi-plot indicated a distinct separation between GF and PF groups. Phenylalanine had the highest VIP score and was more abundant in the GF groups than in the PF groups. Moreover, pathway and network analysis indicated that phenylalanine contributes to oxidoreductase and antioxidant reactions. Although univariate analysis did not yield significant differences in amino acid concentration between the two groups, these findings are significant that they indicate the potentially important roles of amino acids in seminal plasma, thereby building a foundation for the fundamental science of cryobiology and reproductive biotechnology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Amino Acids of Seminal Plasma Associated With Freezability of Bull Sperm

Ugur

Hitit

Kaya

et al. 2020

Front. Cell Dev. Biol.

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“…Sperm quality parameters had been considered as potent fertility predictors in domestic animals (Ahmad, Ahmad, Riaz, & Anzar, ; Holden et al, ); therefore, it is very important to evaluate the sperm function in the cat for its future application in ART both in domestic and nondomestic felids.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in sperm function and structure after freezing in domestic cat spermatozoa

et al. 2018

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Sperm cryopreservation allows for a long-term storage of genetic. However, changes due to factors as cold shock, osmotic and oxidative stress cause reduction in viability and fertilising ability of frozen/thawed spermatozoa. Therefore, evaluation of cryoinjury of cat spermatozoa is a key factor in achieving better cryopreservation results. This study analysed the changes in structural and functional after freezing in ejaculated domestic cats spermatozoa. Semen samples (n = 60) were analysed before and after freezing, progressive motility was determined with computer-assisted sperm analysis and viability, and acrosome intact spermatozoa, mitochondrial function and superoxide anion ( ) were assessed by flow cytometry. The results demonstrated that cryopreservation induced changes in all sperm parameters (p< 0.05). Total sperm motility, viability, acrosome integrity and mitochondrial function of fresh samples were near to 80% and decrease near to 40% in frozen/thawed spermatozoa (p < 0.05); nevertheless, in contrast to all other sperm parameters, the sperm positive with increased post/thawing (p< 0.05). In conclusion, changes in frozen/thawed spermatozoa could be related to the effect of oxidative stress due to the increase in the synthesis of and a concomitant loss of functional competence. Therefore, the evaluation of these sperm parameters could contribute to complement the analysis of fresh or frozen semen used ART.

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“…A brief overview of well-established and most popular sperm characteristic bioassays will be provided here with a focus on those that can be applied in a commercial setting. In-depth discussions of how these predictors correlate to sire fertility have been examined recently by several others (Sellem et al, 2015;Holden et al, 2017;Yániz et al, 2017).…”

Section: Factors Impacting Sire Fertilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The incorporation of computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) and various assays using fluorescent staining and high sample throughput, such as flow cytometry, have drastically increased our understanding of sperm populations in an ejaculate. Despite having increased our understanding of sperm physiology, correlating in vitro sperm attributes to in vivo fertility can be problematic, and no single in vitro assessment can reliably and consistently predict fertility (Sellem et al, 2015;Holden et al, 2017;Yániz et al, 2017). An important aspect of improving correlative power of in vitro sperm bioassays to field fertility has involved the utilization of statistical modeling and the use of large fertility data sets (Utt, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review: Integrating a semen quality control program and sire fertility at a large artificial insemination organization

Harstine¹,

Utt²,

DeJarnette³

2018

Animal

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The technology available to assess sperm population characteristics has advanced greatly in recent years. Large artificial insemination (AI) organizations that sell bovine semen utilize many of these technologies not only for novel research purposes, but also to make decisions regarding whether to sell or discard the product. Within an AI organization, the acquisition, interpretation and utilization of semen quality data is often performed by a quality control department. In general, quality control decisions regarding semen sales are often founded on the linkages established between semen quality and field fertility. Although no one individual sperm bioassay has been successful in predicting sire fertility, many correlations to various in vivo fertility measures have been reported. The most powerful techniques currently available to evaluate semen are high-throughput and include computer-assisted sperm analysis and various flow cytometric analyses that quantify attributes of fluorescently stained cells. However, all techniques measuring biological parameters are subject to the principles of precision, accuracy and repeatability. Understanding the limitations of repeatability in laboratory analyses is important in a quality control and quality assurance program. Hence, AI organizations that acquire sizeable data sets pertaining to sperm quality and sire fertility are well-positioned to examine and comment on data collection and interpretation. This is especially true for sire fertility, where the population of AI sires has been highly selected for fertility. In the December 2017 sire conception rate report by the Council on Dairy Cattle Breeding, 93% of all Holstein sires (n=2062) possessed fertility deviations within 3% of the breed average. Regardless of the reporting system, estimates of sire fertility should be based on an appropriate number of services per sire. Many users impose unrealistic expectations of the predictive value of these assessments due to a lack of understanding for the inherent lack of precision in binomial data gathered from field sources. Basic statistical principles warn us of the importance of experimental design, balanced treatments, sampling bias, appropriate models and appropriate interpretation of results with consideration for sample size and statistical power. Overall, this review seeks to describe and connect the use of sperm in vitro bioassays, the reporting of AI sire fertility, and the management decisions surrounding the implementation of a semen quality control program.

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Relationship between in vitro sperm functional assessments, seminal plasma composition, and field fertility after AI with either non-sorted or sex-sorted bull semen

Cited by 42 publications

References 59 publications

Amino Acids of Seminal Plasma Associated With Freezability of Bull Sperm

Amino Acids of Seminal Plasma Associated With Freezability of Bull Sperm

Changes in sperm function and structure after freezing in domestic cat spermatozoa

Review: Integrating a semen quality control program and sire fertility at a large artificial insemination organization

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