Semen Quality of Rasa Aragonesa Rams Carrying the <i>FecXR</i> Allele of the <i>BMP15</i> Gene

• Main Authors: José Alfonso Abecia, Ángel Macías, Adriana Casao, Clara Burillo, Elena Martín, Rosaura Pérez-Pé, Adolfo Laviña
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: Animals
• Subjects: <i>BMP15</i>; ram; semen
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/9/1628

The <i>FecXR</i> mutation is a variant of the ovine gene <i>BMP15</i> in the Rasa Aragonesa breed. Information on the physiological importance of carrying the <i>FecX</i> polymorphism in rams is limited. The aim of this study was to compare semen quality, testicle characteristics, and fertility rate of rams that carry the <i>FecXR</i> allele. Rams (<i>n</i> = 15) were either FecXR allele carriers (<i>n</i> = 10) or non-carriers, wild type (++) (<i>n</i> = 5). FecXR rams exhibited higher mass motility (<i>p</i> < 0.05), proportion of rapid sperm (<i>p</i> < 0.05), and a lower proportion of slow sperm (<i>p</i> < 0.0001) than did ++ rams. The presence of the <i>FecXR</i> allele was not associated with mean scrotal circumference or testicular length and diameter, although season had a significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05) effect on these traits. Genotype (<i>p</i> < 0.05) and season (<i>p</i> < 0.01) had a significant effect on mean fertility rate, FecXR rams had a higher proportion of pregnant ewes than did ++ rams (<i>p</i> < 0.05). In conclusion, the <i>FecXR</i> allele produced high-quality semen throughout the year, and corresponded with an improvement in some sperm parameters, particularly, mass motility and the proportion of rapid sperm.