Evaluation of a sperm quality analyzer and the effect of dietary antioxidants on semen traits of breeder birds
Abstract
A relatively new instrument known as a Sperm Quality Analyzer ® (SQA) offers a rapid assessment of sperm quality and quantity by providing a sperm quality index (SQI). The SQA measures the intensity of sperm activity and motile concentration by determining the number and amplitude of sperm movements per second in a capillary tube as detected through light beam interference. Though tested in humans and chickens, its application for assessing semen quality in turkey breeders had not been previously evaluated. Our in vitro results showed that the SQI generated by the SQA was indicative of turkey sperm concentration, viability, and motility. The SQA detected the decline in sperm quality that occurred with prolonged storage of semen as well as age-related changes during a semen production cycle of a flock of turkey breeders. The effect of antioxidants, ascorbic acid (AA) and L-carnitine, on semen traits of breeder birds was evaluated. Dietary treatments of 0, 75, and 150 mg/kg AA were fed to turkey breeders during the first 4 months of their reproductive cycle and then were doubled to 150 and 300 mg/kg during months 5 to 9. Semen traits were unaffected by dietary AA; however, multinucleated giant cells, indicative of degeneration, were quantitatively detected in the testes of control birds, but were absent from AA-supplemented birds, suggesting that the antioxidant properties of AA may have delayed the formation of these degenerative cells. Feeding 500 mg/kg of dietary carnitine to young (32 to 37 wk of age) and aging (58 to 62 wk of age) White Leghorn roosters for 5 weeks not only improved sperm concentration during the last half of supplementation, but also reduced sperm lipid peroxidation. Testicular tissue was preserved as indicated by a reduction in multinucleated giant cells in the carnitine-fed birds. These results suggest that dietary carnitine has antioxidant properties that may preserve sperm membranes in roosters, thereby extending the life span of sperm.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Hester, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Livestock
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