Sperm morphology differences associated with pig fertility

Mandawala, A.A.; Skinner, Benjamin M.; Walling, Grant A.; Fowler, Katie E.; Harvey, Simon C.

doi:10.1101/314708

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…In the current study, boars with varicocele had smaller average sperm head area than boars without varicocele. A recent study published by Mandawala et al, (2018) reported that higher mean nucleus area in boars, which is a function of greater head width and lower variability between sperm cell heads, positively influenced fertility. Previous work by Rempel et al, (2019) identified that boars with reduced head shape from spring to summer subsequently had reduced fertility rates in comparison to boars with similar head shape at spring or summer collections.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The effect of varicocele on semen quality in boars exposed to heat stress1

Gruhot

Rempel

White

et al. 2020

Translational Animal Science

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Semen quality has a dramatic impact on reproductive efficiency in the swine industry, influencing both conception rate and litter size. The objective of this study was to assess whether the presence of varicocele hinders semen quality in both thermoneutral and heat stress (HS) conditions. At approximately 6 mo of age, ultrasonography was used to measure left and right pampiniform plexus area in order to detect varicocele in maternal line boars at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Between 10 and 12 mo of age, semen was collected from each boar (n = 28) twice weekly. Boars were collected under thermoneutral conditions, were then heat stressed for 7 d to exacerbate any semen quality issues, and semen was collected post-HS for 6 wk. Sperm characteristics were determined by computer-assisted semen analysis. The presence of varicocele had a significant effect on sperm concentration (P = 0.04) and trended toward significance for mean sperm head area (P = 0.06) throughout the duration of the study. An interaction existed between varicocele and collection time point at weeks 2–5 post-HS for distal droplet percentage, suggesting that boars with varicocele were possibly more susceptible to heat-stress-induced semen quality issues than boars without varicocele. Moreover, semen quality was reduced in boars with versus without varicocele under both thermoneutral and HS conditions. Therefore, detection of varicocele by ultrasound could represent a potential marker of fertility in young boars or as a component trait in selection indices for fertility.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

The effect of varicocele on semen quality in boars exposed to heat stress1

Gruhot

Rempel

White

et al. 2020

Translational Animal Science

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“…Contrastingly, according to Hirai et al (19) the sperm heads of highly fertile boars were less elongated and significantly smaller than those of less fertile boars. Mandawala et al (27), who identified three categories of morphological sperm head in boars, suggested that a certain type may be predominant in semen from subfertile boars. Curry (11) also indicated that certain subtle differences in the shape of the sperm head may affect the fertility potential of the sperm.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of the morphometry of heads of normal sperm and sperm with the Dag defect in the semen of Duroc boars

Banaszewska

Andraszek

2021

Journal of Veterinary Research

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Introduction The Dag defect is one of the primary morphological defects in sperm correlating with reduced fertility. This defect is found in the spermatozoa of many livestock species. The aim of the study was to assess the morphometry of the heads of normal sperm and sperm with the Dag defect in the semen of Duroc breeding boars. Material and Methods Sperm morphology was examined in ten ejaculates each from 12 Duroc boars. In total, 3,600 morphologically normal sperm and 838 sperm with the Dag defect were evaluated. The area, perimeter, length and width of the sperm head were measured and these basic morphometric parameters were used to calculate four additional shape indices characterising the sperm head, i.e. ellipticity, elongation, roughness and regularity. Results Sperm with this defect had markedly smaller heads, 0.32 μm shorter and 0.19 μm narrower than the heads of sperm with normal morphological structure. The heads of sperm with the Dag defect also had a 1.1μm smaller perimeter and a 2.5 μm2 smaller surface area than the heads of morphologically normal sperm. Conclusions The Dag defect is found in boar sperm irrespective of the age of the individual. It affects the morphology of the sperm head.

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“…We present a novel tool for nuclear morphometry, which quantitatively measures a range of nuclear and sub-nuclear size and shape parameters. While we have chosen mouse sperm to demonstrate the software, the analysis steps will work on many symmetric or asymmetric shapes of nuclei including, but not limited to sperm from other species [35].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A high-throughput method for unbiased quantitation and categorization of nuclear morphology

Skinner

Rathje

Bacon

et al. 2019

Biology of Reproduction

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The physical arrangement of chromatin in the nucleus is cell type and species-specific, a fact particularly evident in sperm, in which most of the cytoplasm has been lost. Analysis of the characteristic falciform (“hook shaped”) sperm in mice is important in studies of sperm development, hybrid sterility, infertility, and toxicology. However, quantification of sperm shape differences typically relies on subjective manual assessment, rendering comparisons within and between samples difficult. We have developed an analysis program for morphometric analysis of asymmetric nuclei and characterized the sperm of mice from a range of inbred, outbred, and wild-derived mouse strains. We find that laboratory strains have elevated sperm shape variability both within and between samples in comparison to wild-derived inbred strains, and that sperm shape in F1 offspring from a cross between CBA and C57Bl6J strains is subtly affected by the direction of the cross. We further show that hierarchical clustering can discriminate distinct sperm shapes with greater efficiency and reproducibility than even experienced manual assessors, and is useful both to distinguish between samples and also to identify different morphological classes within a single sample. Our approach allows for the analysis of nuclear shape with unprecedented precision and scale and will be widely applicable to different species and different areas of biology.

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Sperm morphology differences associated with pig fertility

Cited by 4 publications

References 54 publications

The effect of varicocele on semen quality in boars exposed to heat stress1

The effect of varicocele on semen quality in boars exposed to heat stress1

Assessment of the morphometry of heads of normal sperm and sperm with the Dag defect in the semen of Duroc boars

A high-throughput method for unbiased quantitation and categorization of nuclear morphology

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