Copyright © Society of Animal Science, Department of Livestock & Avian Science, Wayamba journal of Animal Science, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka http://www.wayambajournal.com Wayamba Journal of Animal Science – ISSN: 2012-578X; 2011 First Published October 31, 2011; Number 1320125426 SPERM ABNORMALITIES AND DNA FRAGMENTATION VIS-À-VIS MAMMALIAN MALE INFERTILITY – A REVIEW Siddique, R. A. 1 , Jagan Mohanarao Gali 2 , Raj Kumar 2 , Anand Kumar 3 , Malik, P.K. 1 , Chandan Kumar. 4 and Atreja, S.K. 5 1 Navsari Agricultural University, Navsari, Gujarat, India 2 Reproductive Biochemistry Lab., Animal Biochemistry Division, N.D.R.I., Karnal, Haryana, 132001. 3 Govt. of Veterinary Service, Uttar Pradesh, India 4 Ranchi University, Ranchi 5 Reproductive Biochemistry Lab., Animal Biochemistry Division, N.D.R.I., Karnal, Haryana, 132001. Corresponding Author : riazndri@gmail.com In most of the cases male infertility is due to low spermatozoa count, poor spermatozoa quality and DNA fragmentation. It may be the end result of one or more factors that include chronic illness, malnutrition, genetic defects, structural abnormalities, and environmental factors. Spermatozoa abnormalities may be classified on the basis of site of defect and primary & secondary abnormalities. Knobbed sperm defect, diadem defect are the two important defects of spermatozoa head. Midpiece have pseudo droplet defect and corkscrew defect whereas stump defect and dag defect are the specialized defects exhibited by spermatozoa tail. Spermatozoa with normal morphology and other parameters as motility, count etc, may have fragmented DNA (damaged DNA). Therefore DNA damage assessment along with routine tests for infertility investigations is also recommended. Key Words: Spermatozoa, Abnormalities, DNA, Fragmentation, Infertility An important part of any breeding soundness exam is an evaluation of spermatozoa morphology. Normal ejaculated semen volume of human, cattle and buffalo is 2-6 ml, 2-10 ml and 0.5-4.5 ml respectively. The normal spermatozoa count for buffalo, cattle and human are 200-800X106/ ml, 300-2000X106 and 50- 350X106/ml respectively (Knobil and Neill, 1998). Conventionally, the size and shape of the head, midpiece and tail of sperms are examined. Additional information can be gained by evaluating integrity of the acrosome and spermatozoa membranes. Spermatozoa from different species vary in size and shape. Bull and human spermatozoa, for example, have paddle-shaped heads, rodent spermatozoa have hook-shaped heads, and the heads of chicken sperm are spindle-shaped and almost difficult to distinguish from the midpiece. In normal spermatozoa morphology, it counts for an oval head 4 or 5 μm in length and 2 or 3 μm in width. The head contain nucleus with haploid DNA complexed to nuclear proteins called protamines. The actual amount of DNA in the nucleus of one bull spermatozoa has been calculated to be 3.3X10-9 mg. Sperm from infertile animals tend to have less DNA than normal. RNA is also present in the nucleus of the spermatozoa, but in small quantities approximately 0.1X10-9 mg in a spermatozoon of a bull (Frandson and Spurgeon, 1992). The length to width ratio should be between 1.5 and 1.75. A well defined acrosome resides on anterior head and should comprise 40-70% of the