Browsing by Author "Ngcauzele, Asanele"

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    Quantitative sperm characteristics of Tankwa goats with special reference to hyperactivated motility
    (South African Society for Animal Science, 2020) Ngcauzele, Asanele; van der Horst, Gerhard; Kotze, A
    Computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) is an automated and objective method of evaluating structural (e.g. morphology) and functional sperm parameters (e.g. motility and hyperactivation). Sperm hyperactivation is essential for successful fertilization and is thus an important aspect in determining the fertility potential of a male. In the current study, CASA was used for standard semen analysis and for comparison of the ability of phosphate buffered saline (PBS), BO sperm wash (10 mM caffeine), 4% lignocaine, and 5 mM procaine hydrochloride to induce hyperactivation in Tankwa goat spermatozoa. Twenty-nine ejaculates were collected from randomly selected male goats by electroejaculation. Although none of the four media affected percentage total sperm motility, lignocaine caused a significant decrease (P >0.05) in percentage progressive motility. Exposure to procaine resulted in an increase in swimming speed (P ≤0.05) and star-spin motility tracks, which are typical of sperm hyperactivation. Using PBS and procaine motility data from individually selected spermatozoa, receiver operator characteristic curves were constructed to distinguish the kinematic parameters employed as cut-off values for sperm hyperactivation. PBS and BO sperm wash did not induce hyperactivation (0.1  0.2% and 0.04  0.2% respectively), while lignocaine induced little hyperactivation (3.4  3.0%) and procaine hydrochloride had the highest percentage hyperactivation (25.3  13.6%). The large variation in hyperactivation (0–54.5%) may reflect inter-individual differences in sperm quality among these males. This study indicated procaine hydrochloride was the most promising hyperactivation-inducing medium for Tankwa goat spermatozoa and should be considered for similar assessments in other animal species.
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    Seasonal differences in semen characteristics and sperm functionality in Tankwa goats
    (University of the Western Cape, 2018) Ngcauzele, Asanele; Maree, Liana; van der Horst, Gerhard; Kotze, Antoinette
    Tankwa goats have been free-ranging in the Tankwa Karoo National Park in the Northern Cape for more than 80 years. A genetic study concluded that these feral goats are a unique genetic resource compared to other goat breeds in South Africa and should be conserved as a distinctive population. A decision taken by the South African National Parks who is the managing authority in the park, was to remove all alien species, which included the Tankwa goats. Several animals were translocated to the Carnarvon Research Station by the Northern Cape Department of Agriculture, Land Reform & Rural Development, where the Tankwa goat population has grown to a few hundred individuals. Currently, sound scientific decisions including the application of a wide range of technologies and approaches are applied to conserve the population, such as an informed understanding of the reproductive biology of these goats. The aim of this study was to define sperm quality in Tankwa goats using various macroscopic and microscopic evaluation techniques.