Reprod Dom Anim 2017; 1–4 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/rda | 1 © 2017 Blackwell Verlag GmbH Received: 19 September 2016 | Accepted: 2 November 2016 DOI: 10.1111/rda.12903 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Efect of selenium supplementaton on semen characteristcs of Brazil’s ram M Piagentni 1 | DC Silva 1 | CPF Dell’Aqua 1 | CF Moya-Araujo 2 | VM Codognoto 1 | AA Ramos 1 | E Oba 1 1 School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University – UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil 2 School of Veterinary Medicine, State University Midwest – UNICENTRO, Guarapuava, PR, Brazil Correspondence Eunice Oba, School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, Sao Paulo State University – UNESP, Botucatu, SP, Brazil. Email: euniceoba@fmvz.unesp.br Funding informaton São Paulo Research Foundaton—FAPESP. Contents The aim of this study was to investgate the efects of diferent concentratons of oral supplementaton with selenium (Se) upon ram sperm parameters. Thirty rams man- aged in stall under intensive system were used and divided into fve groups (six animals per group) as follows: control group (G1) mineral mixture supplementaton without Se, group 2 (G2) mineral mixture supplemented with 5 mg/kg Se, group 3 (G3) supple- mented with 10 mg/kg Se, group 4 (G4) supplemented with 15 mg/kg Se and group 5 (G5) supplemented with 20 mg/kg Se. For each group, there was an adjustment period of 14 days. The experimental period was 350 days. Every 56 days, the animals were weighed and semen samples were collected by electroejaculaton. Semen analysis in- cluded volume, mass moviment, total motlity, vigour, concentraton and morphology. For plasmatc and acrosomal membrane integrity evaluaton and mitochondrial mem- brane potental were used a combinaton of fuorescent probes. Diferences between means values obtained by analysis of variance were verifed by Tukey test with 5% probability. There was no statstcal diference between treatment groups in relaton to volume, mass moviment, total motlity, vigour, concentraton, plasma and acrosomal membrane integrity (p > .05). Sperm morphology was diferent between treatment groups, the G1 (0 mg of selenium) had the highest percentage of major defects (11.11 ± 1.11 a ; p < .05). It was concluded that selenium decrease the percentage of sperm defects and did not directly infuence on ram sperm volume, mass moviment, total motlity, vigour, concentraton and membrane integrity. 1 | INTRODUCTION The Anualpec (Brazilian Livestock Directory) estmated Brazil’s ram herd in approximately 14.027.271 animals in 2008, which São Paulo state had 515.337. Today, Brazilian Insttute of Geography and Statstcs (IBGE) estmates that Brazilian herd has approximately 16 million heads. According to Bicudo (2005), ram industry in São Paulo is an important state economic actvity where Aspaco (São Paulo′s Ram Breeders Associaton) has registered approximately 200 herds amountng approximately 240.000 ram. However, even with growth in number of animal of ram breeding in Brazil, meat and their products stll has not supplied domestc market demand. Brazil imported 7.100 tons of ram meat in 2006, 50% more than in 2005, being Uruguay its main supplier (Turino, 2008). Ram agribusiness in Brazil mobilizes over a million of rural proper- tes in the country, generatng at least 500 thousand direct jobs and at least three tmes more of indirect jobs. Most of these propertes are me- dium and small farmers who work hard daily to stay in the business and propel this extreme important livestock industry in Brazil. Ram indus- try moves important sectors such as wool producton for industrial use and clothing, meat (protein source), milk and skin productons (Schwab, 2011). Ram industry is an extractve actvity and as it evolves an inten- sive producton system with proft involved, the reproductve efciency becomes an indispensable factor (Pilar, Pérez, & Santos, 2002). To reach