College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.
J Anim Sci. 2023 Jan 3;101. doi: 10.1093/jas/skad392.
The preservation of semen is pivotal in animal reproduction to ensure successful fertilization and genetic improvement of livestock and poultry. However, investigating the underlying causes of differences in sperm liquid preservation ability and identifying relevant biomarkers remains a challenge. This study utilized liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) to analyze the metabolite composition of seminal plasma (SP) from two groups with extreme differences in sperm liquid preservation ability. The two groups namely the good liquid preservation ability (GPA) and the poor preservation ability (PPA). The aim was to explore the relationship between metabolite composition in SP and sperm liquid preservation ability, and to identify candidate biomarkers associated with this ability of sperm. The results revealed the identification of 756 metabolites and 70 differentially expressed metabolites (DEM) in the SP from two groups of boar semen with differing liquid preservation abilities at 17 °C. The majority of identified metabolites in the SP belonged to organic acids and derivatives as well as lipids and lipid-like molecules. The DEM in the SP primarily consisted of amino acids, peptides, and analogs. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analysis also demonstrated that the DEM are mainly concentrated in amino acid synthesis and metabolism-related pathways (P < 0.05). Furthermore, eleven key metabolites were identified and six target amino acids were verified, and the results were consistent with the non-targeted metabolic analysis. These findings indicated that amino acids and their associated pathways play a potential role in determining boar sperm quality and liquid preservation ability. D-proline, arginine, L-citrulline, phenylalanine, leucine, DL-proline, DL-serine, and indole may serve as potential biomarkers for early assessment of boar sperm liquid preservation ability. The findings of this study are helpful in understanding the causes and mechanisms of differences in the liquid preservation ability of boar sperm, and provide valuable insights for improving semen quality assessment methods and developing novel extenders or protocols.
精液的保存对于动物繁殖至关重要，它可以确保家畜和家禽的受精成功和遗传改良。然而，研究导致精子液体保存能力差异的根本原因并确定相关生物标志物仍然是一个挑战。本研究利用液相色谱-质谱（LC-MS）分析了两组具有极端精子液体保存能力差异的猪精液的精液（SP）代谢物组成。这两组分别是良好的液体保存能力（GPA）和较差的保存能力（PPA）。目的是探讨 SP 代谢物组成与精子液体保存能力之间的关系，并确定与精子液体保存能力相关的候选生物标志物。结果显示，在 17°C 下，两组猪精液的 SP 中鉴定出 756 种代谢物和 70 种差异表达代谢物（DEM）。SP 中鉴定出的大多数代谢物属于有机酸及其衍生物以及脂质和类脂分子。SP 中的 DEM 主要由氨基酸、肽和类似物组成。京都基因与基因组百科全书分析还表明，DEM 主要集中在氨基酸合成和代谢相关途径（P<0.05）。此外，还鉴定出 11 种关键代谢物并验证了 6 种目标氨基酸，结果与非靶向代谢分析一致。这些发现表明，氨基酸及其相关途径可能在决定猪精子质量和液体保存能力方面发挥作用。D-脯氨酸、精氨酸、L-瓜氨酸、苯丙氨酸、亮氨酸、DL-脯氨酸、DL-丝氨酸和吲哚可能作为早期评估猪精子液体保存能力的潜在生物标志物。本研究的发现有助于了解猪精子液体保存能力差异的原因和机制，并为改进精液质量评估方法和开发新型稀释液或方案提供有价值的见解。
