Predictive Capacity of Boar Sperm Morphometry and Morphometric Sub-Populations on Reproductive Success after Artificial Insemination

The aim of the study was to compare the morphometric features of sperm head sizeand shape from the Pietrain line and the Duroc×Pietrain boar crossbred terminal lines, and toevaluate their relationship with reproductive success after artificial insemination of sows producedfrom crossbreeding the York...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Baquero, Vinicio, Roldán, Eduardo R. S., Soler, Carles, Yániz, Jesús L., Camacho, Marlen, Valverde, Anthony
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2021
Country:España
Institution:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repository:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/243024
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/243024
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Sperm
CASA-morph
Fertility
Sperm subpopulations
Boar
Sow
Litter size
Description
Summary:The aim of the study was to compare the morphometric features of sperm head sizeand shape from the Pietrain line and the Duroc×Pietrain boar crossbred terminal lines, and toevaluate their relationship with reproductive success after artificial insemination of sows producedfrom crossbreeding the York, Landrace and Pietrain breeds. Semen samples were collected from 11sexually mature boars. Only ejaculates with greater than 70% motility rate and <15% of abnormalsperm were used for artificial inseminations (AI) and included in the study. Samples were analyzedusing an ISAS®v1 computer-assisted sperm analysis system for eight morphometric parameters ofhead shape and size (CASA-Morph). Sub-populations of morphometric ejaculates were characterizedusing multivariate procedures, such as principal component (PC) analysis and clustering methods (k-means model). Four different ejaculate sub-populations were identified from two PCs that involvedthe head shape and size of the spermatozoa. The discriminant ability of the different morphometricsperm variables to predict sow litter size was analyzed using a receiver operating characteristics(ROC) curve analysis. Sperm head length, ellipticity, elongation, and regularity showed significantpredictive capacity on litter size (0.59, 0.59, 0.60, and 0.56 area under curve (AUC), respectively). Themorphometric sperm sub-populations were not related to sow litter size.