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Updated: Jul 2, 2025
Sperm Collection of Differential Quality Using Density Gradient Centrifugation
Published on: November 29, 2018
Decoding the influence of semen collection processes on goat sperm quality from a perspective of seminal plasma
Chunrong Lv1, Allai Larbi2, Chunyan Li1
1Yunnan Animal Science and Veterinary Institute, Jindian, Panlong District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China; Yunnan Provincial Engineering Research Center of Animal Genetic Resource Conservation and Germplasm Enhancement, Panlong District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China; Yunnan Provincial Genebank of Livestock and Poultry Genetic Resources, Panlong District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China.
Abstract:
This study aims to assess the impact of semen collection methods on goat semen quality and seminal plasma (SP) proteomes. Semen was collected by artificial vagina (AV) or electro-ejaculator (EE) and semen parameters were evaluated. Tandem mass tag coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was used to screen SP differentially abundant proteins (DAPs) between EE and AV. PRM was used to confirm the reliability of the data. In contrast to EE, a lower volume, higher progressive motility and concentration were observed in AV. No differences were found in total motility, membrane integrity, acrosome integrity, and ROS production between EE and AV. In total, 1692 proteins were identified in SP, including 210 DAPs. Among them, 120 and 90 proteins were down-regulated and up-regulated in AV compared to EE, respectively. The GO annotation showed that DAPs are mainly localized in the membrane, involved in deference responses to bacterium, RNA processing, and related to oxidoreductase activity. KEGG demonstrated tight associations of DAPs with specific amino acids, carbon metabolism, citrate cycle, and propanoate metabolism. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights into the effects of semen collection on goat semen quality and explores the potential action mechanism based on the modification of SP proteomes. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: The quality of fresh semen directly influences the results of artificial insemination and semen cryopreservation in livestock. This study represents the first attempt to evaluate the impact of semen collection methods including electroejaculation and artificial vagina on sperm quality and seminal plasma proteomes in goat. The results of this study demonstrated that semen collection methods directly impacted the quality of goat semen. Then, the proteomic strategy was used to explore the potential action mechanism of semen collection methods on sperm. Some differentially abundant proteins that potentially influence semen quality were identified. Furthermore, this study suggests the possibility of utilizing specific proteins as predictive markers for goat semen quality.
