Relationships between sperm membrane integrity and other semen quality characteristics of the semen of Saanen goat bucks

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the relationships between sperm membrane integrity, evaluated by the hypo-osmotic swelling (HOS) and water tests, and sperm quality parameters (percentage of dead, motile and abnormal spermatozoa) in goat bucks. For that purpose, a total of 60 fresh ejaculates from 6 Saanen bucks were evaluated. The mean percentage of dead and motile spermatozoa were 12.7 +/- 5.7% and 62.5 +/- 8.6%, respectively. The mean percentages of abnormal spermatozoa with defected acrosome or total morphological defect were 7.2 +/- 2.9% and 9.7 +/- 3.4%, respectively. The mean percentage of swollen tail spermatozoa obtained with the HOS and water tests were 53.7 +/- 11.3% and 49.8 +/- 9.7%, respectively. The mean percentages of swollen tail spermatozoa obtained with the water test were significantly lower than that evaluated from the HOS test (P < 0.01). The percentage of swollen tail spermatozoa evaluated with the HOS test was correlated with that obtained with the water test (r=0.657, P < 0.001). The percentage of swollen tail spermatozoa evaluated by the water and HOS tests were slightly correlated with the percentage of motile spermatozoa (r=0.554 and r=0.523, P < 0.001 and P < 0.001). In conclusion, a hi-h correlation between the HOS test and water test was observed in this study. The percentage of swollen tail spermatozoa obtained by the water test was significantly lower than that obtained by the HOS test.