Effect of the pH in the enrichment of X or Y sex chromosome-bearing sperm in bovine

Abstract

Background and Aim: Studies have shown that the pH of the vagina during the course of fertilization may influence the migration of X- and Y-bearing spermatozoa and thus leading to skewness in the sex of the offspring. Hence, this study was carried out to check the effect of the pH in the enrichment of X or Y sex chromosome-bearing sperm in bovine (Bos indicus). Materials and Methods: To check the effect of pH in the enrichment of X or Y sex chromosome-bearing sperm in bovine, we used buffers of various pH ranging from 5.5 to 9.0 for swim-up procedure of sperm sample and collected upper and bottom fraction from the same buffer and checked the abundance of X- and Y-bearing spermatozoa by droplet digital polymerase chain reaction using X- and Y-chromosome-specific DNA probe. Results: The abundance of X- and Y-bearing spermatozoa was not differed significantly in either of the fraction collected. Conclusion: Thus, it appears to be unlikely that an immediate impact of pH on sperm can be a solitary impact on the sex of offspring in bovine. Keywords: droplet digital polymerase chain reaction, spermatozoa, swim-up.