<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec id="j_jvetres-2021-0019_s_005">
<h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>The Dag defect is one of the primary morphological defects in sperm correlating with reduced fertility. This defect is found in the spermatozoa of many livestock species. The aim of the study was to assess the morphometry of the heads of normal sperm and sperm with the Dag defect in the semen of Duroc breeding boars.</p>
</sec>
<sec id="j_jvetres-2021-0019_s_006">
<h3>Material and Methods</h3>
<p>Sperm morphology was examined in ten ejaculates each from 12 Duroc boars. In total, 3,600 morphologically normal sperm and 838 sperm with the Dag defect were evaluated. The area, perimeter, length and width of the sperm head were measured and these basic morphometric parameters were used to calculate four additional shape indices characterising the sperm head, i.e. ellipticity, elongation, roughness and regularity.</p>
</sec>
<sec id="j_jvetres-2021-0019_s_007">
<h3>Results</h3>
<p>Sperm with this defect had markedly smaller heads, 0.32 μm shorter and 0.19 μm narrower than the heads of sperm with normal morphological structure. The heads of sperm with the Dag defect also had a 1.1μm smaller perimeter and a 2.5 μm<sup>2</sup> smaller surface area than the heads of morphologically normal sperm.</p>
</sec>
<sec id="j_jvetres-2021-0019_s_008">
<h3>Conclusions</h3>
<p>The Dag defect is found in boar sperm irrespective of the age of the individual. It affects the morphology of the sperm head.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Introduction
The Dag defect is one of the primary morphological defects in sperm correlating with reduced fertility. This defect is found in the spermatozoa of many livestock species. The aim of the study was to assess the morphometry of the heads of normal sperm and sperm with the Dag defect in the semen of Duroc breeding boars.


Material and Methods
Sperm morphology was examined in ten ejaculates each from 12 Duroc boars. In total, 3,600 morphologically normal sperm and 838 sperm with the Dag defect were evaluated. The area, perimeter, length and width of the sperm head were measured and these basic morphometric parameters were used to calculate four additional shape indices characterising the sperm head, i.e. ellipticity, elongation, roughness and regularity.


Results
Sperm with this defect had markedly smaller heads, 0.32 μm shorter and 0.19 μm narrower than the heads of sperm with normal morphological structure. The heads of sperm with the Dag defect also had a 1.1μm smaller perimeter and a 2.5 μm2 smaller surface area than the heads of morphologically normal sperm.


Conclusions
The Dag defect is found in boar sperm irrespective of the age of the individual. It affects the morphology of the sperm head.

Assessment of the morphometry of heads of normal sperm and sperm with the Dag defect in the semen of Duroc boars

Journal of Veterinary Research

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Introduction
The Dag defect is one of the primary morphological defects in sperm correlating with reduced fertility. This defect is found in the spermatozoa of...

Variable	Formula
Head length (μm)	L
Head width (μm)	W
Head perimeter (μm)	P
Head area (μm²)	A
Head ellipticity	L/W
Head elongation	(L−W)/(L+W)
Head roughness	4π(A/P²)
Head regularity	π(L×W/4×A)

Morphometric parameter	Sperm with normal structure	Sperm with Dag defect
Head length (μm)	8.29^a ± 0.33	7.97^b ± 0.32
Head width (μm)	4.26^a ± 0.19	4.07^b ± 0.18
Head perimeter (μm)	23.39^a ± 0.98	22.29^b ± 0.64
Head area (μm²)	27.79^a ± 1.17	25.29^b ± 0.95

Morphometric parameter	Sperm with normal structure	Sperm with Dag defect
Ellipticity	1.95^a ± 0.13	1.96^a ± 0.14
Elongation	0.32^a ± 0.02	0.32^a ± 0.03
Roughness	0.63^a ± 0.04	0.64^b ± 0.02
Regularity	0.99^a ± 0.02	1.01^b ± 0.03

Assessment of the morphometry of heads of normal sperm and sperm with the Dag defect in the semen of Duroc boars

Publié en ligne: 23 avr. 2021

Pages: 239 - 244

Reçu: 24 juin 2020

Accepté: 23 mars 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2021-0019

Mots clés
boar, Dag defect, morphometry, sperm, tail of spermatozoon

© 2021 D. Banaszewska, K. Andraszek, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Formulae used to calculate sperm head morphometric measurements

Morphometric parameters of boar sperm measured manually with MultiScan software

Sperm head morphology according to Tygerberg strict criteria in boar sperm

Assessment of the morphometry of heads of normal sperm and sperm with the Dag defect in the semen of Duroc boars

Publié en ligne: 23 avr. 2021

Pages: 239 - 244

Reçu: 24 juin 2020

Accepté: 23 mars 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2021-0019

Mots clésboar, Dag defect, morphometry, sperm, tail of spermatozoon

© 2021 D. Banaszewska, K. Andraszek, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Formulae used to calculate sperm head morphometric measurements

Morphometric parameters of boar sperm measured manually with MultiScan software

Sperm head morphology according to Tygerberg strict criteria in boar sperm

Mots clés
boar, Dag defect, morphometry, sperm, tail of spermatozoon