The Carbohydrate Metabolism of Chicken Semen

THE carbohydrate metabolism of chicken spermatozoa has received little attention. Research on mammalian species has established the presence of fructose in ejaculated semen, and the conversion of this carbohydrate to lactic acid. In contrast, fructose has been reported to be either absent or extremely low in chicken semen (Roy et al., 1950; Lake, 1957). However, it has been observed to be utilized when added to chicken semen (Winberg, 1939; Lorenz, 1958; Van Tienhoven, 1960), and to improve motility (Shaffner et al., 1941; Wilcox, 1959) and fertility (Wilcox and Shaffner, 1958; Wilcox, 1959; Lake, 1960). This investigation has been conducted to obtain further information on the metabolism of various carbohydrates by chicken spermatozoa. Initial comparisons have been made using pH decline as a measure. Selected carbohydrates have been further studied using carbohydrate disappearance and lactic acid production as measures of metabolic activity. EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE Pooled samples of semen from 20 males …