SEASONAL CHANGES ON RAM SEMINAL PLASMA LIPIDS

BERNARDINI, AL; HOZBOR, F; ALBERIO RH; CESARI, A

Ciudad Autónoma de Bs. As, Argentina. Resumen nº 17.

Jornada; X Jornadas de La Sociedad Argentina de Biología; 2008

Sociedad Argentina de Biologia

Sheep have seasonal sexual activity in temperate regions. Males show seasonal variations in sperm production and quality, being the best semen the one from fall. The seminal plasma (SP) also presents seasonal fluctuations and changes in SP proteins have been determined. However the SP also contains a large amount and variety of lipid components whose annual changes and role in sperm function have not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to analyze the lipidic profile in ram SP obtained at different seasons. Seminal lipids were extracted with (2:1) chloroform:methanol from SP collected during the fall, winter, spring and summer and separated by thin layer chromatography (TLC). Chloroform: methanol (98:2) was used as mobile phase to separate cholesterol and an alkaline solvent sistem was used to separate phospholipids. The cholesterol concentration in SP from the different seasons was also measured by an enzimatic method. Phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine were the major phospholipids in ram SP. The amount of these phospholipids, as well as the amount of phosphatidylethanolamine, fosfatidilinositol and cholesterol was the lowest in SP obtained after the reproductive season. The opposite was for fosfatidilinositolbisphosphate. There are seasonal variations in SP lipids that might be related to the variation of the semen quality already known.