Abstract
To assay the fertilizing capacity of domestic animal spermatozoa by hamster test, semen were collected from 13 boars(Duroc. Landrace and Yorkshire) which had been proved to be fertile in the past. then, were preserved in BWW medium or in raw state at 18$^{\circ}C$ or at room temperature. The preserved semen were given each different treatment according to the experimental design and coincubated with zona-free hamster ova for 5 hours. The ova were stained by lacmoid and examined under phase contrast microscope to investigate the rates of ova bound with sperm(sperm binding). ova penetrated by sperm(penetration) and formation of a male pronucleus(pronucleus formation) and also numbers of both bound and penetrated sperm per ovum. Between BWW and TBM medium for boar sperm. no difference in the results of hamster test was obtained. The boar spermatozoa in BWW medium, BWW with caffeine, BWW with heparin, and BWW with both caffeine and heparin showed no difference in the results of hamster test. The boar spermatozoa in BWW medium containing both calcium and RSA showed considerably higher rates of sperm binding, penetration and pronucleus formation as well as higher numbers of both bound and penetrated sperm than those not containing calcium with or without BSA( p<0.01) and also the same results higher than that containing calcium without BSA( p< 0.05). The boar spermatozoa irradiated by X-ray(70 KVP, 20mA) for 3 seconds. then, maintained at 18$^{\circ}C$ for 18 hours showed considerably lower rate of sperm binding than all the other groups including the control and X-ray groups irradiated by smaller dose or maintained for shorter period(p<0.01), and also showed lower number of bound sperm than the other groups(p<0.01, p<0.05). All the control groups of both raw and diluted sperm in BWM medium showed higher rates of sperm binding, penetration and pronucleus formation as well as higher number of penetrated sperm than all the X-ray groups irradiated for 3 seconds(70KVP, 20mA) and maintained for either 3 or 18 hours (p<0.01, p<0.05). At the same time the control groups of diluted sperm showed considerably higher rates of sperm penetration and pronucleus formation than the control group of raw sperm( p<0.01). These results indicates that fertile boar sperm showed considerably lower rates In the results of hamster test, when incubated in the medium without calcium and irradiated by X-ray than when incubated in the medium with calcium and not irradiated by X-ray, respectively, to prove consequently that hamster test would be of great value in assaying the fertilizing capacity of boar spermatozoa.