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Research article2007Peer reviewed

Seasonal variation in nuclear DNA integrity of frozen-thawed spermatozoa from Thai AI swamp buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis)

Koonjaenak S, Johannisson A, Pongpeng P, Wirojwuthikul S, Kunavongkrit A, Rodriguez-Martinez H

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the susceptibility of frozen-thawed swamp buffalo sperm nuclear DNA to undergo controlled acid-induced denaturation in situ, as analysed by flow cytometry, and aimed to correlate the results with sperm head morphology over three seasons in tropical Thailand. Artificial insemination (AI) doses (n = 218) from 18 AI buffalo sires, prepared between 1980 and 1989 and 2003 and 2005, were tested and compared among three seasons, the rainy season, July-October; winter, November-February; and summer , March-June. The overall mean of DNA fragmentation index (DFI) (+/- SD) was 1.84 +/- 1.68%, range from 0.19 to 7.92%, with 0.221 +/- 0.021 of the x-DFI ranging from 0.190 to 0.350 and 0.023 +/- 0.009 of the SD-DFI ranging from 0.010 to 0.070. The DFI was consistently low (range 1.40 +/- 0.21% to 2.16 +/- 0.21%; LSM +/- SEM), with x-DFI ranging from 0.216 +/- 0.003 to 0.225 +/- 0.003 and SD-DFI ranging from 0.022 +/- 0.001 to 0.024 +/- 0.001 across the seasons. The DFI was low enough to be related to high fertility potential. However, DFI values varied statistically among seasons, being lower in the rainy season (1.40 +/- 0.21%, P < 0.05) than in winter (2.16 +/- 0.21%) or summer (2.00 +/- 0.20%), and were also affected by the year of semen collection and processing (P < 0.001). The proportion of morphologically abnormal sperm head shapes was low, with no significant differences between seasons. However, DFI was significantly related to the proportion of loose abnormal sperm heads (r = 0.27, P < 0.01). In conclusion, frozen-thawed swamp buffalo sperm chromatin integrity is not seriously damaged by cryo-preservation or affected by the seasonal variations in temperature and humidity seen in tropical Thailand

Published in

Zentralblatt für Veterinärmedizin
2007, Volume: 54, number: 7, pages: 377-383
Publisher: BLACKWELL PUBLISHING

      SLU Authors

      • UKÄ Subject classification

      Veterinary Science
      Animal and Dairy Science

      Publication identifier

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0442.2007.00946.x

      Permanent link to this page (URI)

      https://res.slu.se/id/publ/14836