Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, PR China.
Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, PR China.
Theriogenology. 2019 Jul 1;132:88-94. doi: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2019.04.002. Epub 2019 Apr 6.
This study aimed to explore associations between semen quality and trace element level in serum and seminal plasma in Yorkshire boars. Semen quality of 112 Yorkshire boars was assessed for 13 weeks to calculate semen utilization rate, which was then divided into three categories: low utilization rate group (LG, < 60% utilization rate), medium utilization rate group (MG, 60-80%), and high utilization rate group (HG, > 80%). After grouping, serum and seminal plasma samples of selected boars were collected to determine concentrations of 10 elements including Ca, Mg, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn, Se, Cr, Pb and Cd using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Results showed the increase of semen utilization rate was accompanied by the increase of sperm motility and the decrease of abnormal sperm rate among three groups (P < 0.01). Serum Fe concentration in LG boars was lower than that in HG boars (P < 0.05). Regression analysis revealed serum Fe concentration was positively correlated with sperm motility (r = 0.251; P < 0.05), while negatively correlated with abnormal sperm rate (r = -0.207; P < 0.05). However, MG and HG boars had lower serum Se concentration than LG boars (P < 0.05), and serum Se concentration contribution to sperm motility varied in a quadratic manner (Sperm motility = -0.0004 Se +0.136 Se+74.06; r = 0.300; P < 0.01). Semen utilization rate tended to decrease with the increase of seminal plasma Pb concentration (P = 0.09). Regression analysis exhibited seminal plasma Pb negatively related to sperm motility (r = -0.237; P < 0.05), while positively correlated with abnormal sperm rate (r = 0.237; P < 0.05). Furthermore, seminal plasma Pb was the most influential factor among trace element in serum and seminal plasma on sperm motility basing on the generalized linear model analysis (P < 0.05). Sperm motility decreased by approximately 3.47% when seminal plasma Pb concentration increased from 0 μg/L to 11.16 μg/L. In conclusion, deficiency of serum Fe reduces semen utilization rate by impairing sperm motility and morphology, whereas excessive serum Se decreases sperm motility. More importantly, the mere existence of seminal plasma Pb has more impact on semen quality than other trace elements in serum and seminal plasma in Yorkshire boars.
本研究旨在探讨约克夏猪精液质量与血清和精浆中微量元素水平的关系。对 112 头约克夏猪的精液质量进行了 13 周的评估，以计算精液利用率，并将其分为三组：低利用率组（LG，利用率<60%）、中利用率组（MG，利用率 60-80%）和高利用率组（HG，利用率>80%）。分组后，采集选定公猪的血清和精浆样本，采用电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定 10 种元素（Ca、Mg、Cu、Fe、Zn、Mn、Se、Cr、Pb 和 Cd）的浓度。结果表明，随着精液利用率的增加，三组的精子活力增加，异常精子率降低（P<0.01）。LG 组公猪血清铁浓度低于 HG 组（P<0.05）。回归分析表明，血清铁浓度与精子活力呈正相关（r=0.251；P<0.05），与异常精子率呈负相关（r=-0.207；P<0.05）。然而，MG 和 HG 组公猪血清硒浓度低于 LG 组（P<0.05），血清硒浓度对精子活力的影响呈二次曲线变化（精子活力=-0.0004 Se+0.136 Se+74.06；r=0.300；P<0.01）。随着精浆铅浓度的增加，精液利用率有下降的趋势（P=0.09）。回归分析表明，精浆铅与精子活力呈负相关（r=-0.237；P<0.05），与异常精子率呈正相关（r=0.237；P<0.05）。此外，基于广义线性模型分析，在血清和精浆微量元素中，精浆铅是影响精子活力的最主要因素（P<0.05）。当精浆铅浓度从 0μg/L 增加到 11.16μg/L 时，精子活力下降约 3.47%。总之，血清铁缺乏通过损害精子活力和形态降低精液利用率，而过量的血清硒降低精子活力。更重要的是，在约克夏猪中，精浆铅的存在对精液质量的影响比血清和精浆中的其他微量元素更为显著。
