title: Mass sperm motility is associated with fertility in sheep.
abstract: The study was to focus on the relationship between wave motion (mass sperm motility, measured by a mass sperm motility score, manually assessed by artificial insemination (AI) center operators) and fertility in male sheep. A dataset of 711,562 artificial inseminations performed in seven breeds by five French AI centers during the 2001-2005 time period was used for the analysis. Factors influencing the outcome of the insemination, which is a binary response observed at lambing of either success (1) or failure (0), were studied using a joint model within each breed and AI center (eight separate analyses). The joint model is a multivariate model where all information related to the female, the male and the insemination process were included to improve the estimation of the factor effects. Results were consistent for all analyses. The male factors affecting AI results were the age of the ram and the mass motility. After correction for the other factors of variation, the lambing rate increased quasi linearly from three to more than ten points with the mass sperm motility score depending on the breed and the AI center. The consistency of the relationship for all breeds indicated that mass sperm motility is predictive of the fertility resulting when sperm are used from a specific ejaculate. Nonetheless, predictability could be improved if an objective measurement of mass sperm motility were available as a substitute for the subjective scoring currently in use in AI centers.
authors.affiliation: INRA, GenPhySE (Génétique, Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage), F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France; Université de Toulouse, INP, ENSAT, GenPhySE (Génétique, Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage), F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France; Université de Toulouse, INP, ENVT, GenPhySE (Génétique, Physiologie et Systèmes d'Elevage), F-31076 Toulouse, France. Electronic address: Ingrid.david@toulouse.inra.fr.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: David
authors.affiliation: INRA, CNRS, Université de Tours, Haras Nationaux, SPARC (Station de Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements), 37380 Nouzilly, France.
authors.forename: Philippa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kohnke
authors.affiliation: Institut de l'Elevage, ANIO, BP 42118, 31320 Castanet-Tolosan, France.
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lagriffoul
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse - INPT-UPS, Institut de Mécanique des Fluides, 31000 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Praud
authors.affiliation: Université de Toulouse - INPT-UPS, Institut de Mécanique des Fluides, 31000 Toulouse, France.
authors.forename: Franck
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Plouarboué
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Degond
authors.affiliation: INRA, CNRS, Université de Tours, Haras Nationaux, SPARC (Station de Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements), 37380 Nouzilly, France.
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Druart
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility / Q000502:physiology*; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D012098:Reproduction / Q000502:physiology; D012756:Sheep / Q000502:physiology*; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Fertility; Mass motility; Sheep