The effect of DMA level on morphology and fertilising ability of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) spermatozoa

The effect of different levels (2, 4 or 6%) of DMA (dimethylacetamide) on the morphology and fertilising ability of unfrozen quail spermatozoa was evaluated.Semen was collected from 72 males kept individually in cages and randomly divided into four groups: Group I—control – fresh undiluted semen (12 males) and three experimental groups (20 males each) – semen diluted 1:1 with Lake's extender and supplemented with 2% (Group II), 4% (Group III) or 6% (Group IV) of DMA (final concentration). Sperm morphology was evaluated at each step of semen preparation, i.e. in fresh and diluted semen, semen supplemented with DMA and semen that remained after insemination. For fertility tests, 36 females were divided into four groups (nine females each). Females in the control group were inseminated with 10 μl of fresh semen, in the experimental groups with 40 μl of diluted semen.Each stage of quail semen treatment had a deleterious effect on sperm morphology. The highest percentage of morphologically normal cells in semen evaluated after insemination, was observed in samples with 2% DMA, and the lowest—in samples with 6% DMA.Semen dilution and DMA addition significantly affected the fertilising potency of spermatozoa. Fertility of eggs collected from the control group (71.5% on average) was significantly higher (P ≤ 0.01) compared to experimental groups (Group II: 2.3%; Group III: 3.9%; Group IV: 2.8%). However, differences between the experimental groups were not significant (P ≤ 0.05).