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Improvement of Sperm Transport by the Administration of Estradiol to Estrous Ewes

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, Maryland 20705

Abstract

In an experiment of 2 x 2 factorial design, 60 parous ewes were mated naturally either 6 or 24 hr after the beginning of estrus. Half of the ewes in each group were given three or four subcutaneous injections of estradiol-17ß totalling 30 or 40 µg within 18 hr after mating. The ewes were necropsied 24 hr after mating, each segment of the reproductive tract was flushed, and sperm cells in the flushings were counted. The time of mating did not significantly affect the number of sperm cells in the cervix, uterus, or oviducts. Over both mating times, estradiol treatment significantly increased by more than twofold the number of sperm cells recovered from the cervix and by more than eightfold the number recovered from the uterus and oviducts.

In an experiment of 5 x 2 factorial design, 80 ewes were given 0, 5, 10, 30, or 100 µg of estradiol either 4 hr before mating or at the time of mating. Ewes were necropsied 20 hr after mating. The time of estradiol administration did not significantly affect sperm cell numbers. Each of the 10, 30 and 100 µg doses of estradiol significantly increased by about threefold the number of sperm cells recovered from the cervix. The 30-µg dose significantly increased by more than 10-fold the number of sperm cells recovered from the uterus and oviducts.

¹ Animal Physiology and Genetics Institute, Reproduction Laboratory, Agricultural Research Center.

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