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Spermatozoan Motility as a Measure of Semen Quality¹

University of Missouri and the U. S. Department of Interior²

Abstract

Results are presented in which the hemacytometer method was used for determining the percentages of motile and progressively motile spermatozoa in bull semen. In 78 ejaculates of fresh bull semen, an average of 64.1 percent of the spermatozoa were motile and 51.6 percent were progressively motile. These same ejaculates contained only 34.9 percent motile and 14.2 percent progressively motile spermatozoa after a storage period of 4 days at a temperature of 10 and 12° C. in egg yolk-phosphate buffer solution.

By using the opal blue-ecsin staining method for determining the percentage of live spermatozoa and the hemacytometer method for determining the percentages of motile and progressively motile spermatozoa in the same ejaculates, four types of cells were observed in bull semen. These types were (1) dead or stained, (2) live, non-motile, (3) weakly motile and (4) progressively motile.

A highly significant correlation was found to exist between the percentages of live, motile and progressively motile spermatozoa in fresh semen. All of these characteristics were also significantly correlated with the percentage of live spermatozoa in semen after storage for 4 days in egg yolk-phosphate buffer. However, none of these characteristics were correlated with the percentage of motile spermatozoa after this same storage period.

The average percentages of resistant and progressively motile spermatozoa were almost identical when determined in the same 63 ejaculates although there was considerable variation in each of these characteristics.For each 10 percent increase in the percentage of progressively motile spermatozoa, there was a corresponding increase of 5.44 percent in the percentage of resistant spermatozoa.

The percentage of motile spermatozoa in 67 ejaculates of fresh semen was significantly correlated with fertilizing capacity although this correlation was low (r=0.314). The correlation between the percentage of progressively motile spermatozoa and fertilizing capacity was not statistically significant (r=0.167).

On the basis of the data reported in this study, it would seem that the determination of the percentage of motile spermatozoa in bull semen by means of the hemacytometer is a good measure of semen quality.

¹ Contribution from the Department of Animal Husbandry, Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station, Journal Series No. 1229.

² The author is particularly indebted to the Apache Indian Veterans, James Randall and Robert Key, for their assistance in calculating the data reported herein, and to Dr. D. T. Mayer for his advice and criticism in the preparation of this manuscript.