The aim of this study was to determine if specific proteins in the seminal
plasma of boars could be related to in vivo fertility. Nine boars with acceptable
sperm motility and morphology for use in artificial insemination (AI),
demonstrated major differences in total born and pregnancy rate when doses
of 1.5 billion total sperm were used to breed 50 ± 5 gilts over the study period.
On four occasions, seminal plasma from semen used for AI was analyzed
using proteomics techniques to determine if specific seminal plasma proteins
were related to differences in vivo fertility and conventional semen quality
assessment parameters such as sperm concentration, sperm motility at
collection and in stored extended semen to day 10 after collection. There were differences (P <0.05) among boars in four proteins, however none of these proteins were related to overall fertility.