Analysis of Related Factors in Semen Quality of Italian Buffaloes

This study was aimed to investigate the factors affecting semen quality by analyzing the semen quality of Italian buffaloes,measuring the circumference of the testis,the level of oxidative stress in seminal plasma and the expression of genes related to sperm motility.In this study,the sperm vitality,deformity rate and semen collection of 6 Italian buffaloes were tested,and the correlation analysis was carried out after measuring scrotal circumference.The oxidative stress level of seminal plasma in Italian buffaloes was tested,including malondialdehyde (MDA),total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and glutathione peroxidation (GSH-Px).The expression of β-tublin-2c (TUBB2C),outer dense fibres 2 (ODF2),tektin-2 (TEKT2),tektin-4 (TEKT4) genes and their correlation with sperm in Italian buffaloes were analyzed.The results showed that the correlation between scrotal circumference and semen yield,vigor and deformity rate was found,the coefficients were 0.423 (P>0.05),0.750 (P<0.01) and -0.827 (P<0.01),which showed a significant positive correlation between scrotal circumference and sperm motility,and a significant negative correlation with the deformity rate.The oxidative stress level in seminal plasma of Italian buffaloes was tested,the correlation coefficients of MDA,T-SOD and GSH-Px with sperm motility were -0.522 (P<0.05),0.333 (P>0.05) and 0.474 (P<0.05),respectively.There was a significant negative correlation between sperm motility and MDA content,a significant positive correlation between GSH-Px activity and sperm motility,no significant correlation with T-SOD activity.The correlation coefficients between sperm motility and TUBB2C,ODF2,TEKT2 and TEKT4 genes were 0.930 (P<0.01),0.726 (P<0.01),0.924(P<0.01) and 0.839 (P<0.01),respectively.There was a significant positive correlation between sperm motility and the expression of four genes.The results provided a reference for understanding the factors affecting the semen quality of Italian buffaloes,and also provided a theoretical basis for the selection of Italian bull.