Improving Sperm Motility in Stallions by Studying Proteomes

Sperm motility is a key predictor of fertility in the evaluation of stallion semen. Though certain factors affecting sperm motility remain unclear, researchers investigating semen “proteomes” have gathered positive preliminary results.

Proteomes are a collection of proteins produced from DNA within a specific cell or tissue. Changes in individual protein production can alter the proteome and influence the function of the cell or tissue. Researchers recently compared semen proteomes from stallions with good and poor sperm motility.^*,**

Semen was collected from 10 fertile stallions. While each of the stallions had semen parameters within normal ranges, samples were classified as having good total motility (>90%) or poor (<80%).

From those samples, 903 proteins were extracted. Analyses uncovered that many of the proteins that differed in stallions with good and poor motility related to energy generation in the mitochondria—the organelle within the sperm cell that powers motility. Researchers also identified specific proteins in sperm with poor motility.

These data provide “compelling evidence that the proteome of stallions spermatozoa clearly influences sperm motility,” according to the research team.

“Because this was a preliminary study designed to develop laboratory techniques capable of proteomics—studying proteomes—further research characterizing those proteins and identifying the key players in motility between stallions with good and bad motility was not performed but is clearly needed,” explained Catherine Whitehouse, M.S., an advisor for Kentucky Equine Research.

“Dietary supplements such as the antioxidant coenzyme Q10 and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids (DHA and EPA) may improve sperm quality parameters in stallions with suboptimal fertility. Coenzyme Q10 plays a role in energy production of spermatozoa and, in part, motility. Positive improvements in motility have been observed within 2 to 4 weeks after beginning supplementation,” Whitehouse said.

Previous work also shows that nutritional supplements containing long-chain omega-3s increased total motility in fresh, cooled, and frozen samples.

^*Gaitskell-Phillips, G., F.E. Martín-Cano, J.M. Ortiz-Rodríguez, et al. 2022. Dataset of the sperm proteome of stallions with different motility. Data in Brief 45:108578.

^**Gaitskell-Phillips, G., F.E. Martín-Cano, J.M. Ortiz-Rodríguez, et al. 2021. Proteins involved in mitochondrial metabolic functions and fertilization predominate in stallions with better motility. Journal of Proteomics 247:104335.