Effects of maternal inheritance on the semen quality of heat-treated semen from crossbred boars with various Duroc and Meishan genetic backgrounds.

The objective of this study was to investigate the semen quality of crossbred black boars with various proportions of maternal inheritance and genetic background, including crossbred K, DK and KD pigs. The fresh boar semen was diluted with preservation medium to the concentration of 6 x 10⁷/mL, and then cultured in an incubator at 17, 39 and 42ºC (heat treatment), respectively, for 12 or 24 hours. Thereafter, the sperm viability, sperm acrosomal integrity and mitochodrial depolorization were evaluated by Sperm Flow Cytometer. Results showed that boars with material inheritance from Meishan (K and KD) had significantly (P < 0.05) better sperm viability, sperm acrosomal integrity and mitochodrial depolorization than DK boars when semen samples were heat-treated. Based on our analysis on semen quality, boars with maternal inheritance derived from Meishan (K and KD) are more heat resistant than boars with maternal inheritance derived from Duroc (DK). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]