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RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)

Tropical summer induces DNA fragmentation in boar spermatozoa: implications for evaluating seasonal infertility

Santiago T. Peña Jr. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5981-1225 A B C , Felicity Stone A , Bruce Gummow B D , Anthony J. Parker E and Damien B. B. P. Paris https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7329-8985 A F G
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Discipline of Biomedical Science, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

B Discipline of Veterinary Science, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

C College of Veterinary Medicine, Visayas State University, Baybay City, Leyte, Philippines.

D Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.

E College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691, USA.

F Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld 4811, Australia.

G Corresponding author. Email: damien.paris@jcu.edu.au

Reproduction, Fertility and Development 31(3) 590-601 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD18159

Journal Compilation © CSIRO 2018 Open Access CC BY-NC-ND

Abstract

Summer infertility continues to undermine pig productivity, costing the pig industry millions in annual losses. The boar’s inefficient capacity to sweat, non-pendulous scrotum and the extensive use of European breeds in tropical conditions, can make the boar particularly vulnerable to the effects of heat stress; however, the link between summer heat stress and boar sperm DNA damage has not yet been demonstrated. Semen from five Large White boars was collected and evaluated during the early dry, late dry and peak wet seasons to determine the effect of seasonal heat stress on the quality and DNA integrity of boar spermatozoa. DNA damage in spermatozoa during the peak wet was 16-fold greater than during the early dry and nearly 9-fold greater than during the late dry season. Sperm concentration was 1.6-fold lower in the peak wet than early dry whereas no difference was found across several motility parameters as determined by computer-assisted sperm analysis. These results demonstrate that tropical summer (peak wet season) induces DNA damage and reduces concentration without depressing motility in boar spermatozoa, suggesting that traditional methods of evaluating sperm motility may not detect inherently compromised spermatozoa. Boar management strategies (such as antioxidant supplementation) need to be developed to specifically mitigate this problem.

Additional keywords: DNA damage, heat stress, oxidative stress, pig, summer infertility, TUNEL.


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