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Bees are currently artificially inseminated on a large scale for breeding and research purposes. The sperm of bees has a complex and varied structure, and determination of specific morphological defects in it is very difficult. Its comprehensive analysis by inspecting morphology and morphometry is an important tool for improving honey bee lines. The staining technique should interfere with the cells as little as possible while clearly showing the boundaries of the head and other elements. In this study, a comparative analysis of the morphometry of sperm was performed with various techniques for staining drone semen.

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.

Electrophoretic techniques, used to separate mixtures of electrically charged particles, are widely used in science. One of these techniques, native protein electrophoresis in an agarose gel, is applied in human and veterinary medicine. Changes in the proportions of individual protein fractions correspond to significant changes in the physiology of the body. Although the pattern obtained by electrophoretic separation rarely indicates a specific disease, it provides valuable information for the differential diagnosis. Decades of research on the types of patterns obtained in the case of particular diseases have led to the accumulation of substantial knowledge. The paper presents the available information on this topic. Serum protein electrophoresis is recommended in cases of increased levels of total protein in order to reveal the nature of the process. The basic information which can be obtained from electrophoretic separation includes the immune status of the organism. Both increased antigenic stimulation and immunodeficiency are clearly visible in electropherograms. Moreover, the level of heterogeneity of the corresponding protein fractions can help to distinguish between infectious diseases and cancer - multiple myeloma - the latter producing a homogeneous immunoglobulin fraction. Analysis of other protein fractions helps to detect or confirm an ongoing inflammatory process and provides information regarding liver function. Even when the concentration of total protein is within the reference range, this analysis can be recommended as a basic laboratory test.

This study was an attempt to evaluate sperm chromatin structure in the semen of insemination boars. Preparations of semen were stained with acridine orange, aniline blue, and chromomycin A3. Abnormal protamination occurred more frequently in young individuals whose sexual development was not yet complete, but may also be an individual trait. This possibility is important to factor into the decision regarding further exploitation of insemination boars. Thus a precise assessment of abnormalities in the protamination process would seem to be expedient as a tool supplementing morphological and molecular evaluation of semen. Disruptions in nucleoprotein structure can be treated as indicators of the biological value of sperm cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semen was collected from Polish Halfbred stallions. Twenty individuals from 3 to 4 years of age were selected for the study. At least one ejaculate from each stallion was collected and assessed. Sperm morphology was evaluated using Papanicolaou stain, SpermBlue®, and a complex of eosin and gentian stain, whereas unstained slides were used as control samples. Morphometric measurements were performed on 100 randomly selected sperm heads in each ejaculate. The length, width, perimeter, and surface area of the sperm head were measured. The frequency of nuclear vacuoles was determined as well. Tygerberg's strict criteria, which most precisely characterise the sperm head, were used in the morphological evaluation of the sperm. The results obtained indicate that in the case of staining with SpermBlue® and with eosin+gentian complex, the morphometry of the sperm head seems to be most similar to that observed in unstained smears. It also seems that neither shrinking nor swelling is uniform in the various staining techniques (Papanicolaou stain). Moreover, it appears that in comparison with unstained sperm, all methods caused the width of the head to increase as a result of swelling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study was conducted on spermatozoa of selected farm and free-living animal species, isolated post mortem from the tail of the epididymis, and stained with silver nitrate - AgNO 3. The material was collected from pigs, goats, wild boar, and European roe deer. Twenty morphologically normal spermatozoa randomly selected from each animal and well visible under the microscope, were analysed. The following measurements were considered: head length, width, perimeter and area, acrosome area, mid-piece length, tail length, and overall sperm length. AgNO 3 staining differentiated the acrosomal (light hue) and distal (dark hue) part of the sperm head, and a light-hued mid-piece was visible within the sperm tail. Silver nitrate staining revealed species and variety-related differences, particularly in reference to the sperm head. Clear-cut differentiation within the head and tail area made it possible to perform detailed morphometric measurements of the spermatozoa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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