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Characteristics of Spermatozoan Midpiece Length and its Relationship with Economically Important Traits in Cattle¹

Department of Animal Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331

ABSTRACT

Statistical properties, inheritance of spermatozoan midpiece length, and its association with bull reproductive traits and daughters' dairy traits were examined in a sample of 39 Holstein bulls. Variation for midpiece length of individual cells was small within bulls (coefficient of variation 4.5%), but midpiece length did vary among bulls. Average midpiece length did not differ in ampules of semen collected from the same ejaculate but did differ between ampules of semen from the same bull collected at least 6 mo apart. Two methods of estimation yielded heritabilities of midpiece length greater than one. Both were imprecise but consistent with additive genetic variation for the trait. Moderate correlations between a sire's midpiece length and his Predicted Difference for dairy production traits were negative. Correlations between midpiece length and semen quality and fertility were close to zero. Results suggest that midpiece length is heritable and that it might be correlated with economically important dairy production traits.

¹ Technical Paper No. 5569, Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station. Contribution to Western Regional Coordinating Committee WRCC-1, The Improvement of Beef Cattle Through the Application of Breeding Methods.