The Effect of Semen Quality on Reproductive Efficiency

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Principles of semen quality and fertility

The concepts of compensable and uncompensable semen quality traits and their interactions with numbers of sperm in the inseminate dose are essential to understanding the relationship of semen quality to fertility (Fig. 1) [1], [2]. Compensable semen quality traits are those that respond to increasing cell numbers per dose with increased fertility, and are generally believed to be associated with measures of sperm viability (ie, motility, acrosomal, cell-membrane integrity, and the like).

Assays of compensable semen quality components

Compensable semen quality attributes are those that influence accessibility of a viable sperm population to the ovum proximal to the time of ovulation. Thereby, assessment of sperm motility is a foundation measure for this component of the spermiogram. Likewise, various tests designed to measure the proportions of live sperm and those that have functional intact membranes would be expected to reflect compensable semen quality attributes. Assessment of these traits, however, is theoretically

Assays of uncompensable semen quality components

As mentioned previously, uncompensable semen quality attributes are those believed to be closely associated with the ability of spermatozoa within a sample to sustain embryo development following fertilization. Therefore, uncompensable traits largely impact the maximum level of fertility that is obtainable from a given semen sample, more than they impact the threshold numbers of sperm required to achieve maximum fertility [2]. Normal sperm morphology is the most routinely measured semen quality

Threshold numbers of sperm per dose

Early research related extension rates for bovine semen to be used in AI supported the concept of threshold numbers of sperm per dose, as proposed by Salisbury and VanDemark [1]. These studies typically revealed that as cell numbers per dose were increased, fertility, as measured by nonreturn rates in the female population, responded in a curvilinear fashion [26], [27], [28]. These studies also indicated that individual bulls/ejaculates vary in the rate or slope of the fertility response and in

The spermiogram in perspective

The complexity of the above interactions often limits the diagnostic value of a given semen evaluation procedure, particularly with respect to the positive fertility diagnosis. As implied by Amann and Hammerstedt [35], the relationships of semen quality to fertility should be investigated for degrees of “association” rather than for degrees of “correlation.” Fertile sperm are those that possess sufficient levels of all known and unknown semen characteristics necessary to achieve fertilization

Summary

The impact of the male or inseminate on reproductive efficiency is the function of a complex series of interactions between numbers of sperm per dose and the ratio and severity of compensable and uncompensable sperm defects in the sample. Because of the correlation among many semen quality traits, screening for one trait often enriches the retained population for multiple attributes; however, these correlations also confound our ability to identify which semen quality attribute is most closely

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