TY - JOUR
T1 - Genetic parameters of semen quality traits and genetic correlations with service sire nonreturn rate in Nordic Holstein bulls
AU - Gebreyesus, Grum
AU - Lund, Mogens S
AU - Kupisiewicz, Kasia
AU - Su, Guosheng
N1 - © 2021, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. and Fass Inc. on behalf of the American Dairy Science Association®. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Despite the importance of the quality of semen used in artificial insemination to the reproductive success of dairy herds, few studies have estimated the extent of genetic variability in semen quality traits. Even fewer studies have quantified the correlation between semen quality traits and male fertility. In this study, records of 100,058 ejaculates collected from 2,885 Nordic Holstein bulls were used to estimate genetic parameters for semen quality traits, including pre- and postcryopreservation semen concentration, sperm motility and viability, ejaculate volume, and number of doses per ejaculate. Additionally, summary data on nonreturn rate (NRR) obtained from insemination of some of the bulls (n = 2,142) to cows in different parities (heifers and parities 1-3 or more) were used to estimate correlations between the semen quality traits and service sire NRR. In the study, low to moderate heritability (0.06-0.45) was estimated for semen quality traits, indicating the possibility of improving these traits through selective breeding. The study also showed moderate to high genetic and phenotypic correlations between service sire NRR and some of the semen quality traits, including sperm viability pre- and postcryopreservation, motility postcryopreservation, and sperm concentration precryopreservation, indicating the predictive values of these traits for service sire NRR. The positive moderate to high genetic correlations between semen quality and service sire NRR traits also indicated that selection for semen quality traits might be favorable for improving service sire NRR.
AB - Despite the importance of the quality of semen used in artificial insemination to the reproductive success of dairy herds, few studies have estimated the extent of genetic variability in semen quality traits. Even fewer studies have quantified the correlation between semen quality traits and male fertility. In this study, records of 100,058 ejaculates collected from 2,885 Nordic Holstein bulls were used to estimate genetic parameters for semen quality traits, including pre- and postcryopreservation semen concentration, sperm motility and viability, ejaculate volume, and number of doses per ejaculate. Additionally, summary data on nonreturn rate (NRR) obtained from insemination of some of the bulls (n = 2,142) to cows in different parities (heifers and parities 1-3 or more) were used to estimate correlations between the semen quality traits and service sire NRR. In the study, low to moderate heritability (0.06-0.45) was estimated for semen quality traits, indicating the possibility of improving these traits through selective breeding. The study also showed moderate to high genetic and phenotypic correlations between service sire NRR and some of the semen quality traits, including sperm viability pre- and postcryopreservation, motility postcryopreservation, and sperm concentration precryopreservation, indicating the predictive values of these traits for service sire NRR. The positive moderate to high genetic correlations between semen quality and service sire NRR traits also indicated that selection for semen quality traits might be favorable for improving service sire NRR.
KW - genetic correlation
KW - heritability
KW - male fertility
KW - semen quality
U2 - 10.3168/jds.2021-20403
DO - 10.3168/jds.2021-20403
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34099302
SN - 0022-0302
VL - 104
SP - 10010
EP - 10019
JO - Journal of Dairy Science
JF - Journal of Dairy Science
IS - 9
ER -