Semen variables and sperm membrane protein profile of Saanen bucks (Capra hircus) in dry and rainy seasons of the northeastern Brazil (3°S)

Abstract

The Saanen is a highly productive breed, and for this reason, it has been raised in Brazil, but mostly under climate conditions completely different from where the breed originated. The objective of this study was to investigate variations in semen parameters and sperm membrane proteins from Saanen bucks (n = 7) raised in Northeastern Brazil, during dry season (September, October, and November) and rainy season (March, April, and May). We showed that during the dry season, sperm motility, concentration, and the percentage of normal sperm decreased as compared to the rainy season. Rectal temperatures of bucks had no significant (p > 0.05) variations during the dry and rainy seasons. However, temperatures of left and right skin testis were higher (p < 0.05) during the dry as compared to the rainy season. Expression of three proteins (lysine-specific demethylase 5D, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase subunit d, and radial spoke head protein 9 homolog) in sperm membrane were more intense in rainy season and only one protein (cytosol aminopeptidase) had greater expression in the dry season of the year. Our results show that mechanisms of testicular thermoregulation of Saanen bucks did not prevent a decrease in seminal parameters during the dry season. This deterioration may be related to reduced expression of proteins associated with important functions in sperm membrane.

Effects of seasons and environmental conditions on semen quality of Senduro goats reared under tropical climate

“…In this study, the semen collection of Senduro bucks seems to be more profitable when conducted during the rainy season compared to dry season as indicated by higher CONC, IMOT, and PTMOT. This current finding is in corresponds with other studies which also revealed that the bucks had higher sperm concentration and motility in the rainy season than dry season [6,7]. The higher sperm concentration in the dry season as compared to dry season also previously reported in other livestock such as cattle and buffalo [8,9].…”

Proteome of the periovulatory oviduct and uterus of goats as related to nutritional balance

“…Proteins extracted from oviduct and uterus tissue were separated by 2‐D SDS‐PAGE based on a protocol previously described (Van Tilburg et al, ), with modifications. For focalization (first dimension), the samples were solubilized in rehydration solution (7 M Urea, 2 M Thiourea, 2%CHAPS, 1% DTT, 2% buffer IPG pH 4 −7% and 0.002% bromophenol blue (GE Healthcare®, USA).…”

“…Spots identified in the uterine tissue and oviduct maps and differentially expressed according to treatments were excised from gels and digested as described by van Tilburg et al (). Tryptic peptides were separated in BEH300 C18 columns (100 μm × 100 mm) using the nanoAcquity™ (Waters, USA) system and eluted at 600 μl/min with acetonitrile gradient (5%–85%) containing 0.1% formic acid.…”

Evaluation of the proteomic profiles of ejaculated spermatozoa from Saanen bucks (Capra hircus)

“…The specific synthesis of actin family proteins in the testes occurs at the end of spermatid differentiation. They were studied in bovine (Byrne et al, 2012) and ovine (van Tilburg et al, 2013) spermatozoa.…”