Development of a bovine sperm selection procedure for improvement of livestock fertility

Abstract

Improving the reproductive performance of livestock has wide-ranging significance that includes promotion of local industry, bioeconomy, and stabilization of food supply. Our research focused on sperm manipulation to improve the reproductive performance of cattle. Our experiments were based on previous studies on infertility treatment for humans by relying on the advantages of motile spermatozoa, i.e. spermatozoa that are able to swim against the flow of solutions, which is regarded as an attribute of healthy and physiologically functional spermatozoa. For the first time, we succeeded in collecting a number of spermatozoa that can be used for artificial insemination and obtained good conception results in a field trial. In addition, the field trial clarifies the advantageous relationship between sperm trajectory and conception.