The relationship between seminal plasma aspartate aminotransferase activity, sperm osmotic resistance test value, and semen quality in boars

Abstract

The relationship between the activity of aspartate aminotransferase (AspAT) in seminal plasma and the values of the osmotic resistance test (ORT) of acrosomal membranes and semen traits was examined on 120 young hybrid Pietrain and Duroc boars. The following semen quality traits were determined: the volume of the ejaculate, the percentage of spermatozoa with progressive motility, sperm concentration and the total number of spermatozoa in the ejaculate, percentage of spermatozoa with normal acrosome, the percentage of spermatozoa with major and minor morphological defects, ORT, and the activity of AspAT in seminal plasma. The activity of AspAT in seminal plasma was negatively correlated (p_0.01) with the spermatozoa concentration and total number per ejaculate, percentage of spermatozoa with progressive motility and percentage of spermatozoa with a normal acrosome, while positively with the percentage of spermatozoa with major (p≤0.001) and minor (p≤0.01) morphological defects. The ORT values negatively correlated with the percentage of spermatozoa with major (p≤0.05) and minor (p≤0.01) morphological defects, while positively (p≤0.001) with the percentage of spermatozoa with a normal acrosome.

Keywords

• AspAT
• boars
• ORT
• semen quality