Analysis of breed effects on semen traits in light horse, warmblood, and draught horse breeds.
Abstract: In the present study, systematic effects on semen quality traits were investigated in 381 stallions representing 22 breeds. All stallions were used for AI either at the Lower Saxon National Stud Celle or the North Rhine-Westphalian National Stud Warendorf. A total of 71,078 fresh semen reports of the years 2001 to 2014 were edited for analysis of gel-free volume, sperm concentration, total number of sperm, progressive motility, and total number of progressively motile sperm. Breed differences were studied for warmblood and light horse breeds of both national studs (model I) and for warmblood breeds and the draught horse breed Rhenish German Coldblood from the North Rhine-Westphalian National stud (model II) using mixed model procedures. The fixed effects of age class, year, and month of semen collection had significant influences on all semen traits in both analyses. A significant influence of the horse breed was found for all semen traits but gel-free volume in both statistical models. Comparing warmblood and light horse stallions of both national studs, we observed highest sperm concentrations, total numbers of sperm, and total numbers of progressively motile sperm in Anglo-Arabian stallions. The draught horse breed Rhenish German Coldblood had the highest least squares means for gel-free volume, whereas all other investigated semen traits were significantly lower in this breed compared to the warmblood stallions under study. The variance components among stallions within breeds were significant for all semen traits and accounted for 40% to 59% of the total variance. The between-breed-variance among stallions was not significant underlining the similar size of the random stallion effect in each of the horse breeds analyzed here. In conclusion, breed and stallion are accounting for a significant proportion of the variation in semen quality.
Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2015-12-10 PubMed ID: 26893165DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2015.11.030Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
Summary
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The research aims to understand the effects of breed on semen quality in stallions, finding significant variations between breeds, and recognizing breed and individual stallion characteristics as significant determinants of semen quality.
Study Design
- The study conducted an assessment on 381 stallions representing 22 breeds to evaluate the impact of various factors on semen traits.
- Data collected from 2001 to 2014, and representing a total of 71,078 fresh semen reports, were analyzed.
- All stallions were used for artificial insemination (AI) either at the Lower Saxon National Stud Celle or the North Rhine-Westphalian National Stud Warendorf.
- A range of semen quality traits were analyzed including gel-free volume, sperm concentration, total number of sperm, progressive motility, and total number of progressively motile sperm.
Findings
- The fixed effects of age class, year, and month of semen collection were found to have significant influences on all semen traits in both analyses.
- Significant differences in semen traits were observed among different stallion breeds for all traits except for gel-free volume.
- Among warmblood and light horse stallions of both national studs, Anglo-Arabian stallions had the highest sperm concentrations, total numbers of sperm, and total numbers of progressively motile sperm.
- The draught horse breed Rhenish German Coldblood had the highest least squares means for gel-free volume, but all other investigated semen traits were significantly lower in this breed compared to the warmblood stallions.
Seminal Variation
- The variance among stallions within breeds was significant for all semen traits and accounted for 40-59% of the total difference observed.
- The between-breed-variance among stallions was not significant, which means that there is a similar size of the random stallion effect across all the horse breeds analyzed in the study.
Conclusion
- This study concludes that breed and individual stallion characteristics significantly contribute to variations in semen quality.
- Further, the findings also emphasize the significant role of external factors like age, year, and month of semen collection in influencing semen traits.
Cite This Article
APA
Gottschalk M, Sieme H, Martinsson G, Distl O.
(2015).
Analysis of breed effects on semen traits in light horse, warmblood, and draught horse breeds.
Theriogenology, 85(8), 1375-1381.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.theriogenology.2015.11.030 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Institute for Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
- Unit of Reproductive Medicine-Clinic for Horses, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany.
- Lower Saxon National Stud Celle, Celle, Germany.
- Institute for Animal Breeding and Genetics, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Hannover, Germany. Electronic address: ottmar.distl@tiho-hannover.de.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Breeding
- Horses / classification
- Horses / physiology
- Insemination, Artificial / veterinary
- Male
- Semen Analysis / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 6 times.- Bazzano M, Zhu C, Laus F, Giambattista AD, Laghi L. Exploring the metabolome of seminal plasma in two different horse types: Light versus draft stallions. Reprod Domest Anim 2023 Jan;58(1):109-116.
- Perrett J, Harris IT, Maddock C, Farnworth M, Pyatt AZ, Sumner RN. Systematic Analysis of Breed, Methodological, and Geographical Impact on Equine Sperm Progressive Motility. Animals (Basel) 2021 Oct 29;11(11).
- Gmel AI, Burger D, Neuditschko M. A Novel QTL and a Candidate Gene Are Associated with the Progressive Motility of Franches-Montagnes Stallion Spermatozoa after Thaw. Genes (Basel) 2021 Sep 25;12(10).
- Gacem S, Valverde A, Catalán J, Yánez Ortiz I, Soler C, Miró J. A New Approach of Sperm Motility Subpopulation Structure in Donkey and Horse. Front Vet Sci 2021;8:651477.
- Laseca N, Anaya G, Peña Z, Pirosanto Y, Molina A, Demyda Peyrás S. Impaired Reproductive Function in Equines: From Genetics to Genomics. Animals (Basel) 2021 Feb 3;11(2).
- Wilson M, Williams J, Montrose VT, Williams J. Variance in Stallion Semen Quality among Equestrian Sporting Disciplines and Competition Levels. Animals (Basel) 2019 Jul 25;9(8).
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