Special Issue "Animal Reproduction: Semen Quality Assessment"

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Reproduction".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Anna Wysokińska
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Siedlce University of Natural Sciences and Humanities, Siedlce, Poland
Interests: reproduction animals; andrology; spermatozoa; semen quality

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I invite you to submit original research papers and review articles concerning different aspects of different animal species semen evaluation. Sperm quality is essential for successful fertilization and proper development of the embryo. Problems in animal reproduction lead to the search for more precise methods of semen evaluation. Precise semen diagnostics is necessary in predicting male fertility and is important in optimizing their fertilization ability both in natural conditions and in assisted reproductive technology. In terms of improving semen preservation techniques, proper semen diagnostics is extremely important. Spermatozoa are cells with a specific structure, not found in other animal cells, and exhibit great morphological variability. They belong to the most diverse types of cells and are very sensitive to various factors. The aim of this special issue is to present the latest scientific achievements in the application of advanced techniques in the evaluation of animal semen, including a careful analysis of sperm cell structures.

Dr. Anna Wysokińska
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • sperm analysis
  • semen
  • sperm quality
  • fertility
  • biology of reproduction
  • artifical insemination

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
Multiparametric Study of Antioxidant Effect on Ram Sperm Cryopreservation—From Field Trials to Research Bench
Animals 2021, 11(2), 283; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020283 - 23 Jan 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 529
Abstract
The optimization of sperm cryopreservation protocols in ram is a feasible tool to reinforce artificial insemination technologies considering the desirable application of sperm by vaginal/cervical or transcervical deposition. Cryopreservation provokes different types of damage on spermatozoa and many of these detrimental effects are [...] Read more.
The optimization of sperm cryopreservation protocols in ram is a feasible tool to reinforce artificial insemination technologies considering the desirable application of sperm by vaginal/cervical or transcervical deposition. Cryopreservation provokes different types of damage on spermatozoa and many of these detrimental effects are triggered by redox deregulation. For this reason, the antioxidant supplementation in sperm cryopreservation protocols to decrease reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and to equilibrate redox status has been widely employed in different species. Despite this, more fertility trials are necessary to provide the definitive tool to ensure the antioxidant effectiveness on sperm quality. For this reason, in this work, we performed a multiparametric analysis of some previously tested antioxidants (crocin, GSH and Trolox) on ram sperm cryopreservation from field trials to sperm quality analyses focused on new strategies to measure redox balance. Attending to fertility trial, Trolox supplementation registered an improvement concerning to fertility (when we considered high fertility males) and multiple lambing frequency and other complementary and descriptive data related to lambing performance such as prolificacy and fecundity. This positive effect was more evident in multiple lambing frequency when we considered low fertility males than in global male analysis. In vitro analyses of sperm quality confirmed in vivo trials registering a positive effect on sperm viability and redox balance. In this study, we provided the definitive evidence that the role of trolox on redox balance maintenance has a direct effect on fertility parameters, such as prolificacy. The effectiveness of antioxidant treatments was tested, for the first time in ovine species, using an integrative and multiparametric approach combining in vivo and in vitro analyses and novel approaches, such as RedoxSYS. These types of strategies should be applied to improve sperm conservation methods and optimize AI technologies upgrading the correlation between in vitro and in vivo analyses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Reproduction: Semen Quality Assessment)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Reproduction of Indigenous Domestic Animals with Special Reference to their Sperm Quality

Gerhard van der Horst 1* and Liana Maree 1

1    Comparative Spermatology Laboratory, Department of Medical Bioscience, University of the Western Cape, Bellville 7535, South Africa; [email protected];[email protected]

*    Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +27 82 202 3560

Simple Summary: Indigenous domestic animals are derived from “wild l” ancestors that have been domesticated as far back as 11000 BP. In this investigation, we concentrate on indigenous domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens in Southern Africa and consider their fertility potential. In South Africa alone, more than 60 indigenous domestic breeds have been listed and by and large their sperm quality is similar to high fertility breeds. Why are these indigenous breeds important? Particularly during the last 700 years different races migrated with their domestic animals mainly from Egypt to Southern Africa and the animals were exposed to droughts, food scarcity and many endo- and ecto-parasites. Accordingly, these animals are well adapted to the harsh conditions of Southern Africa and it is important to include them in breeding programs to exploit their favorable traits.   

Abstract: (1) Background: Indigenous domestic animals such as cattle, sheep, goats, pigs and chickens have a natural resistance to endo- and ecto-parasites and are tolerant in terms of harsh environmental conditions such as high temperatures, as well as little water and food availability. In view of limited information on the reproductive status of indigenous breeds, it is important to examine their semen characteristics in order to select males to improve livestock production; (2) Methods: We have largely relied on existing literature but also our published and ongoing research on sperm quality assessment of several indigenous breeds; (3) Results: The sperm quality of these breeds is similar to current commercial breeds and has been quantified using cutting edge methods. In this context we have shown that sperm functional tests such as hyperactivation provide a better estimate of the potential fertility of a semen sample than just a standard semen analysis; (4) Conclusions: Initial results suggest that the indigenous breeds have a high sperm quality and sperm functionality similar to currently farmed exotic or crossbreeds. In the long-term the importance of preserving the favourable traits of these breeds is a priority in view of cross breeding with existing good meat and milk producers.

Keywords: Sperm quality; indigenous domestic animals; cattle; sheep; goats; pigs; chicken

 

2. Relationship between quality parameters and fertlizing ability of cryopreserved sexed bull sperm

Piotr Gogol, Monika Trzcińska

Department of Reproductive Biotechnology and Cryoconservation, National Research Institute of Animal Production, Krakowska Str. 1, 32 083 Balice, Poland


Abstract: The purpose of the experiment was to assess the correlation between sperm quality parameters and field fertility after AI with sexed-sorted (X-bearing) bull semen. A total of 37 ejaculates from 31 Holstein Friesian bulls have been analysed for assessing sperm motility parameters (CASA), membrane integrity (SYBR-14/PI), apoptotic like-changes (YO-PRO-1/PI), chromatin structure (SCSA) and ATP content. For determining sperm fertilizing ability, 880 heifers and 914 cows were inseminated. Ultrasound diagnosis of the pregnancy was performed on day 35 after insemination. The results revealed that the pregnancy rate ranged from 20.0% to 85.7% for heifers and 7.7% to 100% for cows. Amplitude of lateral head displacement (ALH), beat cross frequency (BCF) and percentage of dead sperm (SYBR-14-/PI+) were correlated with heifers pregnancy rates (r = -0.39, 0.38 and -0.38 respectively; P<0.05). There was no correlation between sperm quality parameters and pregnancy rate of cows. In conclusion, the present study has identified markers of sexed bull sperm function that were correlated with the fertility of inseminated heifers.

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