This study investigated the effects of skim-milk supplementation on the quality and penetrating ability of boar semen preserved at 15 °C. When boar semen samples were preserved in Modified Modena extender supplemented with various concentrations (0, 7.5, 15, 30 and 50 mg/mL) of skim milk powder at 15 °C for 4 weeks, higher sperm motility and viability were observed in the case of 7.5 mg/mL skim...

The current study investigated the relationship between the level of expression and tyrosine phosphorylation of the sperm protein 32 (sp32) and the activation of the boar proacrosin/acrosin system. The acrosomal membrane proteins of boar sperm for use in different treatment experiments (i.e., fresh sperm, freezing and thawing, capacitation, and acrosome reaction) were separated, stained by Coom...

Semen production is an important parameter to A.I. studs in the pig industry. This parameter can only be evaluated once the boar has entered quarantine and semen has been collected. Therefore, a protocol to score the testes size of the boars subjectively was developed. We evaluated these subjective scores of testes size as a predictor of semen production and its correlations to female reproduct...

The objective was to monitor sperm counts and bacterial presence on randomly pooled semen doses over 3y and to determine effects on the farrowing rate and total born in two large farm systems, each serviced by their own boar stud. Sperm counts were divided into increments of 0.5x10(9) for data analysis. There was no effect of sperm count or the presence of bacteria on farrowing rate (n=9502 obs...

For artificial insemination (AI) in pigs, preservation of liquid boar semen at 16-20 degrees C is still common practice as sperm cryopreservation remains suboptimal in this species. To meet the different needs of the swine industry, several extenders have been developed to preserve semen in liquid form for short--and long-term storage. In the present study, three different commercial extenders ...

The sperm mobility assay used in the present study measures the rate of sperm penetration in a biologically inert cell-separation solution (Accudenz). When a sample of sperm is overlaid in a cuvette containing Accudenz, sperm penetrate the solution and absorbance of the sample can be measured with a spectrophotometer. This assay has been successfully used to select chicken and turkey semen dono...

This study aimed to convert a short-term semen extender into long-term by adding penicillamine (PEN). Semen samples were collected from six boars, diluted at concentration 3 × 10<sup>9</sup> spermatozoa/100 ml, and divided eight groups as follows: BTS, Merck III<sup>®</sup>, Androstar<sup>®</sup> Plus, PEN 0.125 mM, 0.25 0.5 1.0 2.0 mM. All the stored 18 °C e...