Testicular and epididymal sperm reserve evaluations in three Jordanian goat breeds

Abstract

The study aimed to determine the effect of goat breed (Shami, Mountain Black and Hybrid) on testicular and epididymal sperm reserves. The study was conducted at Mutah University Animal Farm, Jordan in March 2016. The study area lies between Latitude of 31°27″ N, Longitude of 35°74″ W, and an altitude of 960 m. Average temperature and relative humidity recorded during the study were 14.6°C and 59.0%, respectively. Hybrid had the heaviest (P = 0.04) right tail epididymal weight (6.36 ± 0.3 g), the highest (P = 0.03) epididymosomatic index (0.60 ± 0.1 g/kg), and the widest (P = 0.02) testicular width (0.32 ± 0.03 cm/kg) relative to body weight. Epididymal sperm concentrations in the right testicular side were the highest (P = 0.04) in Hybrid (0.530 ± 0.15 × 109 sperm/ml) compared to Shami (0.386 ± 0.04 × 109 sperm/ml) and Mountain Black (0.322 ± 0.10 × 109 sperm/ml). Total testicular-epididymal sperm concentrations in both testes were the highest (P = 0.04) in Hybrid (0.810 ± 0.20 × 10 sperm/ml) compared to Shami (0.764 ± 0.09 × 109 sperm/ml) and Mountain Black (0.716 ± 0.12 × 109 sperm/ml). Furthermore, Hybrid had the highest (P = 0.05) epididymal body sperm concentrations (0.252 ± 0.05 × 109 sperm/ml) in both testes compared to Mountain Black and Shami. Taken together, the outcomes of this work highlighted the testicular and epididymal sperm traits in bucks of three breeds native to the semiarid region of Jordan. Hybrid displayed greater testicular traits than Shami and Mountain Black.

Keywords

• Spermatogenesis
• sperm reserves
• goats
• bucks
• Jordan