TITLE:
Ergot Alkaloid Effects on Bovine Sperm Motility In Vitro
AUTHORS:
Ryan Page, Toby Lester, Rick Rorie, Charles Rosenkrans Jr.
KEYWORDS:
CASA, Bull Spermatozoa, Toxins
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Reproductive Sciences,
Vol.7 No.1,
January
17,
2019
ABSTRACT: Cattle in some parts of the world graze pastures that consist of tall fescue that may contain ergot alkaloid contamination. Those ergot alkaloids are associated with reduced reproductive rates in cattle. Our objective was to determine if ergot alkaloids [dihydroergotamine (DHET), ergonovine (EN), and ergotamine (ET)] directly affect bovine sperm characteristics. Spermatozoa were collected from mature Angus (n = 2) and Balancer (n = 4) bulls. Within bull, treatments were structured as a 3 × 5 factorial with three alkaloids (DHET, EN, and ET) and five concentrations of each alkaloid (0, 33, 66, 100, or 200 μM). Spermatozoa (25 × 106) were incubated (39˚C) in 1 mL of modified sperm medium. Sperm motility characteristics were evaluated using CASA (Hamiliton Thorne IVOS, Beverly, MA) at 0, 3, and 6 h after initial alkaloid exposure. Initial sperm motility was (69% ± 1.1%) and declined (P = 0.01) to (35% ± 2.6%) at 6 h. Sperm motility decreased (P P