Sperm protein markers for Holstein bull fertility at National Artificial Insemination Centers in Indonesia

Vet World Vol.13 May-2020 Article-17

Research Article

Veterinary World, 13(5): 947-955

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2020.947-955

Zulfi Nur Amrina Rosyada¹, Mokhamad Fakhrul Ulum^1,2, Ligaya I. T. A. Tumbelaka^1,2, and Bambang Purwantara^1,2

1. Study Program of Reproductive Biology, Graduate School, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia.
2. Department of Veterinary Clinic, Reproduction and Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia.

Background and Aim: Holstein cows and heifers are widely bred in Indonesia by artificial insemination (AI) to increase population and milk production. Sperm fertility is modulated by genetic factors, but the analysis of sperm quality is still based on macro- and microscopic characteristics. This study aimed to analyze both sperm quality and proteins of Holstein bulls at different fertility levels.

Materials and Methods: The frozen semen samples were collected from the Indonesia National AI Center. They were classified based on the reproductive efficiency data and were grouped into high fertile (HF) and low fertile (LF). Sperm qualities were evaluated by microscopic evaluation. The Holstein sperm proteins were extracted using phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride as a protease inhibitor and the benzidine detergent extraction method. Discontinuous sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was conducted to analyze the molecular weights (MWs) of the sperm proteins. The data obtained were analyzed by a t-test using the one-factor bull fertility level, and Spearman's correlation analysis was used to identify the correlation between the sperm microscopic evaluation parameters and protein bands.

Results: The sperm motility post-freeze thawing was not significantly different between the HF and LF (p>0.05). The HF level had a higher percentage of viability, intact plasma membrane integrity, and intact acrosomes than the LF (p<0.05). Five protein bands were found in the SDS-PAGE of sperm proteins of Holstein bulls with different concentrations. Sperm proteins with MWs of 17.51 kDa, 14.87 kDa, 33.71 kDa, and 41.97 kDa were abundant in the Holstein bulls with an HF level, while 55 kDa proteins were abundant in the LF level of Holstein bulls. The sperm of Holstein bulls in the HF level contained proteins of about 33.71 kDa that were not detected in the LF.

Conclusion: The sperm protein with a molecular weight of 33.71 kDa was predicted to be a specific protein biomarker that influences bull fertility. Sperm fertilization abilities were also determined by the sperm proteins, the morphology of sperm acrosomes, and the quality of plasma membranes. This method can be used to select bulls with high fertility to increase the population of Holstein bulls. Keywords: biomarker, fertility, sperm proteins, bull, Holstein.

Keywords: biomarker, fertility, sperm proteins, bull, Holstein.

How to cite this article: Rosyada ZNA, Ulum MF, Tumbelaka LITA, Purwantara B, (2020) Sperm protein markers for Holstein bull fertility at National Artificial Insemination Center in Indonesia, Veterinary World, 13(5): 947-955.

Received: 05-11-2019 Accepted: 03-04-2020 Published online: 20-05-2020

Corresponding author: Bambang Purwantara E-mail: purwantara@ipb.ac.id

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2020.947-955

Copyright: Rosyada ZNA, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.