Masters Theses

Date of Award

8-1986

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Animal Science

Major Professor

Henry G. Kattesh

Committee Members

B. H. Erickson, C. A. Shivers

Abstract

The objectives of this study were; 1) to compare the effects of natural mating (hand mating to one boar), homospermic insemination (artificial insemination using freshly collected and extended semen from one boar), and heterospermic insemination (artificial insemination using a mixed inseminate of freshly collected and extended semen from two boars) on selected reproductive parameters in swine and 2) to establish a technique for fluorescing porcine sperm cells to be used in examining their ability to bind to or penetrate zona-stripped bovine oocytes in vitro. In experiment one, sows and gilts were bred at 12 and 24 hours after the detection of estrus. Three hundred and three females were bred by either natural mating (n=136), homospermic insemination (n=lll), or heterospermic in-semination (n=56) over a 22-month interval. Reproductive parameters examined were conception rate, total pigs born per litter, total pigs born alive per litter, and average birth weight. Conception rate was not different among females, regardless of method of breeding. When compared to natural mating and homospermic insemination, litter sizes tended (p<.07) to be larger when females were bred by heterospermic insemination. Likewise, total pigs born alive was greater (p=.06) for females bred by heterospermic insemination compared to those bred by the other two methods studied. Parity had a significant (p<.05) effect on all parameters examined. Females in parity one had lower conception rates than females having greater than four previous litters. Females in parity seven produced the largest litters and had the most pigs born alive. Pigs in parities one and two had the smallest litters. Total pigs born and average birth weight were negatively correlated. Females were bred during 12 separate breeding periods. Only average birth weight was affected by period of breed-ing. Females bred in the period having the highest average birth weight coincided with the greatest percentage of gilts being bred during any one period. In experiment two, the fluorescent stains acridine orange (AO) and Texas red (TR) were examined for their use as porcine sperm cell markers. These fluorochromes were found to be permanent and have similar effects on the sperm cells. Sperm samples of a single ejaculate were fluoresced with either AO or TR and incubated in a 1:1 ratio with zona-free bovine oocytes. The number of sperm cells bound to or penetrating the oocytes was found to be similar regardless of the stain used. When labeled in a 1:3 or 3:1 ratio with AO and TR respectively, the number of sperm cells observed bound to or penetrating the oocytes was not different (p<.05) from the expected. These results indicate that AO and TR are equally useful as porcine sperm cell markers. Future studies employing this technique may be used to compare the reproductive ability (sperm cell penetration ability and ability to undergo capacitation and an acrosome reaction) of young males with the potential of becoming herd sires as well as examining the effect of sperm cells when two samples are combined and used in heterospermic insemination. Furthermore, this technique has the potential to be used in conjunction with conventional means (motility and morphology examination) of semen evaluation in assessing fertility in the male.

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