Table 2.
Differences in analyzed parameters between seminal doses from the breeding and the non-breeding season.
| Parameter | Breeding season | Non-breeding season | Significance level (P) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Intact membrane (IM) spermatozoa (PI-) (%) | 51.97 ± 1.64 | 42.57 ± 1.66 | P = 0.001 |
| IM non-capacitated (IM-NC) spermatozoa (%) | 19.92 ± 0.82 | 18.07 ± 0.90 | P = 0.087 |
| Non-permeant (NP) sperm with high ΔΨm (YO-PRO-1 -/MitoT+) (%) |
36.68 ± 1.77 | 16.21 ± 1.12 | P < 0.001 |
| IM sperm without PS translocation (Annx-/PI-) (%) | 39.06 ± 1.16 | 33.82 ± 1.39 | P = 0.05 |
| IM sperm without active caspases (FITC-VAD-/Eth-) (%) | 32.07 ± 1.18 | 33.63 ± 1.79 | n.s. |
| DNA-intact spermatozoa (TUNEL-) (%) | 85.17 ± 0.59 | 84.49 ± 0.66 | n.s. |
| Oxygen consumption (fmol O2·mL−1·min−1 per million cells) |
0.55 ± 0.17 | 0.61 ± 0.17 | P = 0.019 |
| Fertility (ewes lambing per ewes inseminated, %) | 53.01± 1.42 | 50.63 ± 1.72 | n.s. |
| Fecundity (number of lambs born per ewes inseminated) | 0.86 ± 0.02 | 0.79 ± 0.03 | n.s. |
| Prolificacy (number of lambs born per ewe lambing) | 1.59 ± 0.02 | 1.53 ± 0.03 | n.s. |
Results are expressed as a mean value ± standard error of the mean. Last column reflects the level of significance. n.s., non significant.