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Sperm tendency to agglutinate in motile bundles in relation to sperm competition and fertility duration in chickens

Research Authors
M. A. M. Sayed, Hanan H. Abd-Elhafeez, O. S. Afifi, M. W. Marzouk & Taymour M. El-Sherry
Research Abstract

A unique sperm behavior was observed in Egyptian chickens. Sperm showed a tendency to agglutinate forming motile thread-like bundles. Sperm agglutination behavior, kinematics, and some morphometric measures were studied in relation to sperm competition and fertility duration in Sharkasi and Dandarawi chickens. Sperm tendency to agglutinate was assessed by examining sperm morphology using scanning electron microscopy, Acridine orange-stained semen smears using fluorescence microscopy, and recording videos of sperm under phase contrast microscope. Sperm velocity and morphometric measures were evaluated using image-J software. To assess sperm competition, Sharkasi and Dandarawi hens were artificially inseminated by semen pools possessing equal number of Sharaksi and Dandarawi sperm. Artificial insemination was repeated ten times. The eggs obtained were incubated, and the hatchlings were discriminated as descending from Sharkasi or Dandarawi fathers according to their phenotype. To assess the fertility duration, Sharkasi and Dandarawi hens were inseminated by semen collected from roosters of the same strain. Eggs were collected for a period of 28 days post-insemination and incubated. Sharkasi spermatozoa showed higher tendency to agglutinate forming longer and thicker motile bundles. No significant differences were observed in sperm curvilinear and straight line velocity and in sperm morphometric measures between Sharkasi and Dandarawi chickens. Sharkasi roosters fathered 81.6% and 67.7% of the hatchlings produced by Sharkasi and Dandarawi mothers, respectively. The fertility period in Sharkasi and Dandarawi was 22 and 14 days, respectively. We suggest that the differences seen in sperm competitiveness and fertility duration can be attributed to sperm agglutination behavior.

Research Date
Research Publisher
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-22049-8
Research Vol
Sci Rep 12, 18860 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22049-8
Research Website
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-22049-8
Research Year
Received 24 May 2022 Accepted 07 October 2022 Published 07 November 2022 Sci Rep 12, 18860 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22049-8
Research Pages
Sci Rep 12, 18860 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-22049-8