Influence of spermatozoa quality on rate of oocyte fertilization under the in vitro conditions

Quality control and standardization of genetic material and preparations used in animal reproduction are high-priority tasks for successful livestock management. A large amount of frozen semen is imported, but the material does not always meet needed quality standards. The quality indicators of semen production are influenced by many different factors, which include bull’s feeding and keeping, hygiene of semen col- lection, composition of diluents, methods of freezing and defrosting, and a number of other factors. The aim of the research was to study the influence of the quality parameters of spermatozoa obtained from different breeding bulls on oocyte fertilization in vitro. The sperm qualitative indicators (sperm activity, number of live and dead sperm cells, acrosome integrity) as well as the effect of these indicators on the oocyte fertilization under the in vitro conditions were studied on the material obtained from three servicing bulls. Oocytes for the experiment were obtained from donor cows by US-guided (ovum-pick-up (OPU)) aspiration from the ovaries of live animals at a livestock enterprise in the Kemerovo Region. Such sperm qualita- tive indicators of the bull Matias-4593 as the sperm activity (42.0±2.10%) and the number of sperm cells with damaged acrosome (25.2 ± 1.8%) positively influenced the fertilization rate of oocytes under the in vitro conditions, where 50% of fertilization cases were successful.