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Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / The Semen Microbiome and Semen Parameters in Healthy Stallio...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2022; 12(5); 534; doi: 10.3390/ani12050534

The Semen Microbiome and Semen Parameters in Healthy Stallions.

Abstract: Despite the advances in reproductive technology, there is still a considerable number of low sperm quality cases in stallions. Recent studies in humans have detected several seminal microflora-spermatozoa associations behind some idiopathic infertility cases. However, no studies are available on horses, and there is limited information on the microflora present in stallion ejaculates. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to examine associations to the presence of bacteria families with five sperm quality parameters: concentration, total number of spermatozoa, total and progressive motility, and DNA fragmentation. Samples were cryopreserved after their extraction. High-speed homogenization using grinding media was performed for cell disruption. Family identification was performed via 16S rRNA sequencing. Bacterial families were only considered if the relative abundance was higher than 1%. Only two families appeared to have a correlation with two sperm quality parameters. Peptoniphilaceae correlated positively with total sperm motility, whereas Clostridiales Incertae Sedis XI correlated negatively with progressive motility. No significant differences were found for the rest of the parameters. In conclusion, the seminal microbiome may affect spermatozoa activity. Our findings are based on statistical associations; thus, further studies are needed to understand the internal interactions between seminal flora and cells.
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Publication Date: 2022-02-22 PubMed ID: 35268102PubMed Central: PMC8908834DOI: 10.3390/ani12050534Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research focuses on examining the correlation between the presence of certain bacterial families and sperm quality in healthy stallions, with the aim of better understanding the effect of seminal microbes on sperm activities.

Objective of the Research

  • The primary objective of the research was to analyze the relationship between the presence of specific bacterial families and five different sperm quality parameters: concentration, total number of spermatozoa, total motility, progressive motility, and DNA fragmentation.

Sample Collection and Processing

  • Stallion ejaculates were used as samples for the study, and these were cryopreserved after extraction.
  • The method of cell disruption implemented was high-speed homogenization using grinding media.
  • The identification of the bacterial families was done via 16S rRNA sequencing. This sequence is very commonly used in research to identify bacteria and archaea because it is present in almost all such organisms and has regions of variable sequences allowing differentiation between species.
  • Only bacterial families with a relative abundance of more than 1% were considered for the study.

Key Findings

  • The study discovered a positive correlation between the presence of the bacterial family Peptoniphilaceae and total sperm motility, meaning a higher presence of this bacterial family tended to result in higher total sperm motility.
  • The bacterial family known as Clostridiales Incertae Sedis XI showed a negative correlation with progressive motility, meaning an increase in the presence of this family resulted in a decrease in progressive motility.
  • The study found no significant differences for the remaining parameters i.e., sperm concentration, total number of spermatozoa, and DNA fragmentation.

Conclusion and Further Study

  • The research results suggest that the seminal microbiome can potentially influence sperm activity.
  • However, as these findings are based on statistical associations and correlations, further studies are required to probe deeper into the actual internal interactions between seminal flora and cells to establish a more concrete causal relationship.

Cite This Article

APA
Quiñones-Pérez C, Martínez A, Ortiz I, Crespo F, Vega-Pla JL. (2022). The Semen Microbiome and Semen Parameters in Healthy Stallions. Animals (Basel), 12(5), 534. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050534

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 12
Issue: 5
PII: 534

Researcher Affiliations

Quiñones-Pérez, Carlota
  • Laboratorio de Investigación Aplicada, Cría Caballar de las Fuerzas Armadas, Carretera de Madrid Km 395A, 14014 Córdoba, Spain.
Martínez, Amparo
  • Genetics Department, Edificio Gregor Mendel (C5), Campus de Rabanales, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain.
Ortiz, Isabel
  • Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Campus Rabanales, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain.
Crespo, Francisco
  • Centro Militar de Cría Caballar de Ávila, Cría Caballar de las Fuerzas Armadas, Calle Arsenio Gutiérrez Palacios, 05005 Ávila, Spain.
Vega-Pla, José Luis
  • Laboratorio de Investigación Aplicada, Cría Caballar de las Fuerzas Armadas, Carretera de Madrid Km 395A, 14014 Córdoba, Spain.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 6 times.
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