The activity of some peptide hydrolase enzymes in fresh and stored poultry semen from full sib groups of males and their relationship to fertility.
The seminal plasma and sperm of fresh and stored poultry semen were analyzed for the presence of eight peptide hydrolase enzymes. Five enzymes: carboxypeptidase A, carboxypeptidase B, chymotrypsin, glycylglycylglycine hydrolase and pepsin were not present in either plasma or sperm. An aminopeptidase-like and a cathepsin-like activity were found in seminal plasma and sperm while a trypsin-like activity was found in sperm only. There was a significant difference between full sib groups with respect to aminopeptidase-like activity in fresh and stored plasma, while storage for 24 hours resulted in a significant increase in trypsin-like activity of sperm. The aminopeptidase-like activity of fresh sperm was positively correlated with duration and percent fertility of fresh semen, while neither cathepsin-like activity nor trypsin-like activity were correlated with fertility of fresh or stored semen except for a positive correlation between the cathepsin-like activity of fresh plasma and percent fertility of fresh semen.
D000626:Aminopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002403:Cathepsins / Q000378:metabolism; D002645:Chickens / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D008297:Male; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases / Q000378:metabolism*; D011309:Preservation, Biological; D012661:Semen / Q000201:enzymology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000201:enzymology; D014357:Trypsin / Q000378:metabolism
D002403:Cathepsins; D010447:Peptide Hydrolases; D000626:Aminopeptidases; D014357:Trypsin