Reproductive aspects of Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) hatched from eggs incubated under different light colors.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of exposure to different colors of light during egg incubation on the reproductive parameters of male and female Japanese quails. A total of 1776 eggs were incubated under four lighting conditions for 24 h a day during the entire incubation period: white LEDs, green LEDs, red LEDs and darkness (control). The experimental design was a randomized block (incubation time) with four treatments of six replicates of two cages each. After hatching, the birds were housed in brood cages with 18 birds each to 35 days of age, when they were sexed and transferred to production cages for evaluation of reproductive parameters. After the onset of laying, the number of eggs in each cage was recorded daily, and the values were used to obtain the age of the females at first egg and at 80% laying. At 35 and 60 days of age, several birds from each cage were euthanized for anatomical and histological evaluation of the gonads. Two females from each cage were weighed every three days until 60 days of age to determine the growth curve. After 60 days, eggs from each cage were collected and assessed for external and internal quality. At 70, 74 and 78 days of age, semen collection was performed and seminal quality was evaluated. Then, the males were transferred to cages containing 9 females for the fertility test. Hatchability was higher (P < 0.05) in eggs incubated in the dark and under the red LED. The age of maximum growth was higher (P < 0.05) in birds from eggs incubated in the dark and under the white LED. There was no difference (P > 0.05) in the anatomical and histological characteristics of the testicles between the groups incubated under different light colors, except for the diameter of the seminiferous tubules, which was greater (P = 0.05) in the dark and in the white LED groups. There was no effect (P > 0.05) of light color during incubation on the productive index or egg quality of adult birds. There was also no effect (P > 0.05) on sperm quality, except for sperm motility, the values of which were higher (P < 0.05) in birds from eggs incubated in different colors of light. However, this difference was not sufficient to significantly (P > 0.05) influence bird fertility. It is concluded that under the studied conditions, the incubation of quail eggs under white, red, and green LED lamps does not influence the reproductive characteristics of the quails.

Chlorogenic acid improves the quality of boar semen processed in Percoll.

This study aimed to evaluate if the addition of chlorogenic acid (ChA) to semen extenders improves the quality of cooled boar semen processed in Percoll. The experimental design was randomized blocks (ejaculates) in a 2×3 factorial (with or without Percoll, and three antioxidant systems: a negative control, without supplementation, a positive control - vitamin E, and ChA), totaling six treatments and 12 repetitions. ChA and vitamin E (VE) were added at 4.5 mg/ml and 400 µg/ml in extender, respectively. At 0, 48 and 72h of storage at 15ºC, 80 ml insemination doses each containing 2.0 billion sperm cells were submitted to centrifugation in Percoll. The use of Percoll impaired (P<0.01) all motility patterns but decreased (P<0.01) the number of abnormal cells at 0, 48 and 72h of storage. Both VE and ChA improved (P<0.05) the total motility after Percoll processing, but only in semen stored for 48h. The same effect was not observed (P>0.05) in semen stored for 72h. ChA improved (P<0.05) the total motility of the semen stored for 72h, but this effect was not observed (P>0.05) when the semen was processed in Percoll. The antioxidants had no effect (P>0.05) on the viability and integrity of the acrosome, but ChA reduced (P<0.05) the number of abnormal cells at 0h, while VE increased the number of abnormal cells in semen stored for 72h, independent of the use of Percoll. There was no effect (P>0.05) of antioxidants or Percoll on the concentration of malondialdehyde in seminal plasma. The use of Percoll had no effect (P>0.05) on the cholesterol efflux, but ChA increased (P<0.05) this parameter at 0h and reduced (P<0.05) in the semen stored for 72h not processed with Percoll. In conclusion, the addition of ChA to semen extenders improved the quality of boar semen processed or not in Percoll.

Cell population indexes of spermatogenic yield and testicular sperm reserves in adult jaguars (Panthera onca).

The intrinsic yield of spermatogenesis and supporting capacity of Sertoli cells are the desirable indicators of sperm production in a species. The objective of the present study was to quantify intrinsic yield and the Sertoli cell index in the spermatogenic process and estimate testicular sperm reserves by histological assessment of fragments obtained by testicular biopsy of five adult jaguars in captivity. The testicular fragments were fixed in 4% glutaric aldehyde, dehydrated at increasing alcohol concentrations, included into hydroxyethyl methacrylate, and were cut into 4 microm thickness. In the seminiferous epithelium of the jaguar, 9.2 primary spermatocytes in pre-leptotene were produced by "A" spermatogonia. During the meiotic divisions only 3.2 spermatids were produced by a primary spermatocyte. The general spermatogenic yield of the jaguar was about 23.4 cells and each Sertoli cell was able to maintain about 19.2 germ cells, 11 of them were round spermatids. In each seminiferous epithelium cycle about 166 million spermatozoa were produced by each gram of testicular tissue. In adult jaguars, the general spermatogenic yield was similar to the yield observed in pumas, greater than that observed for the domestic cat, but less compared to most domestic animals.

Organization and quantification of the elements in the intertubular space in the adult jaguar testis (Panthera onca, LINNAEUS, 1758).

The endocrine portion of mammal testicle is represented by Leydig cells which, together with connective cells, leukocytes, blood and lymphatic vessels, form the intertubular space. The arrangement and proportion of these components vary in the different species of mammals and form mechanisms that keep the testosterone level--the main product of the Leydig cell--two to three times higher in the interstitial fluid than in the testicular blood vessels and 40-250 times higher in these than in the peripheral blood. Marked differences are observed among animal species regarding the abundance of Leydig cells, loose connective tissue, development degree and location of the lymphatic vessels and their topographical relationship with seminiferous tubules. In the jaguar about 13% of the testicular parenchyma is occupied by Leydig cells, 8.3% by connective tissue and 0.3% by lymphatic vessels. Although included in standard II, as described in the literature, concerning the arrangement of the intertubular space, the jaguar has grouped lymphatic vessels in the intertubular space instead of isolated ones. In the jaguar the average volume of the Leydig cell was 2386 microm3 and its average nuclear diameter was 7.7 microm. A great quantity of 2.3 microm diameter lipidic drops was observed in the Leydig cell cytoplasm of the jaguar. The Leydig cells in the jaguar occupy an average 0.0036% of the body weight and the average number per gram of testicle was within the range for most mammals: between 20 and 40 million.