PSIII-1 - Influence of prenatal or postnatal exposure to gossypol from cottonseed meal on semen quality in commercial boars: a preliminary study on feral hog control.

The objective was to examine the influence of prenatal (Experiment 1) or postnatal (Experiment 2) exposure to gossypol from cottonseed meal (CSM) on semen quality in commercial boars. In Experiment 1, pregnant sows (n = 5) were fed a diet containing 0% (n = 1), 0.04% (n = 2), or 0.08% (n = 2) gossypol between d 56 and 86 of gestation. Boars (n = 11) born to sows in each treatment group (0% gossypol n = 3; 0.04% gossypol n = 4; 0.08% gossypol n = 4) were fed a common diet without CSM, and semen was collected at 269±2 d of age using a live sow in estrus. In Experiment 2, boars (n = 21) were fed a diet containing 0%, 0.02%, or 0.04% gossypol between 63±1 and 105±1 d of age (Initial BW: 19.85±0.43 kg). After the treatment period, boars were fed a common diet without CSM, and semen was collected at 238±7 d of age using a breeding dummy. Sperm cell concentration, percentage of motile sperm cells, and percentage of progressively motile sperm cells were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS with treatment as a fixed effect in Experiment 1 and 2 and dam as a random effect in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, semen was not successfully collected from every boar; therefore, chi-square analysis was used to assess semen collection status between treatment groups using the FREQ procedure of SAS. In Experiment 1, there was no difference in sperm concentration (P = 0.45), percent motility (P = 0.71), or percent progressive motility (P = 0.27) between treatment groups. In Experiment 2, there was no difference in sperm concentration (P = 0.72), percent motility (P = 0.17), or percent progressive motility (P = 0.87) between treatment groups. No difference was observed in boar collection status between treatment groups (P = 0.77). In conclusion, prenatal or postnatal exposure to gossypol from CSM did not influence semen quality in commercial boars.