Impact of 6 different intestinal bacteria on broiler breeder sperm motility in vitro.

Male fertility is often evaluated by measuring sperm parameters, including concentration, viability, and motility. This is important because after copulation occurs, sperm must overcome many barriers in the female reproductive tract to fertilize the ovum. In mammalian species, sperm have been shown to have reduced motility when bacteria are present. In male broiler breeders, bacteria have been associated with spermatozoa, but their effect on motility has not been investigated. The sperm quality index is a modern rapid method of evaluating avian sperm motility. Therefore, the objective of this study was to use the sperm quality index to determine if broiler breeder sperm motility is reduced when semen is exposed to various bacteria. In this experiment, semen was collected from 20 broiler breeders to obtain a pooled neat semen sample. Six different intestinal bacteria, Salmonella enterica, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridium bifermentans, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Bifidobacterium animalis were cultured overnight. For each bacterium, 50 µL of semen was diluted in 450 µL of saline, sterile broth, or the overnight culture, creating 3 treatments. The experiment was repeated twice. In each treatment, 3 replicates were evaluated at 0 and 10 min postinoculation, creating a completely randomized design with a split plot over time. Also, the pH was measured for each treatment at 0 and 10 min. The results indicated that all broths containing bacteria immediately reduced broiler breeder sperm motility when compared with the controls (P < 0.0001), but broths containing Bifidobacterium or Lactobacillus virtually made sperm immotile. Although broth containing Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Bifidobacterium immediately reduced sperm motility, the reduction did not change over time. Broths containing E. coli, Clostridium, and Lactobacillus reduced sperm motility immediately, but over time motility continued to decrease. However, pH was increased when semen was exposed to the E. coli and Campylobacter treatment, but when semen was exposed to Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus treatments, pH was reduced. In conclusion, the results indicate that bacteria can reduce broiler breeder sperm motility upon exposure.

Evaluating 3 gas-delivery systems for culturing Campylobacter jejuni in a microaerophilic environment.

Campylobacter spp. require a microaerophilic environment (80% N(2), 10% CO(2), 5% H(2), and 5% O(2)) for growth. Since the late 1800s, several systems for creating and maintaining specific microbial atmospheres have been developed and applied. The objective of this study was to evaluate Campylobacter jejuni growth by means of 3 commonly used gas-delivery systems for generating a microaerophilic environment: automated, gas-generating sachet, and plastic storage bag. Pure culture C. jejuni cells were suspended in Brucella broth and spread onto campy cefex agar plates. For the automated gas-delivery system, plates were positioned in a Mart anaerobic jar and flushed with a microaerophilic gas mixture using an Anoxomat Mart II system (Mart Microbiology B. V., Netherlands). For the sachet samples, plates were placed in a Mart anaerobic jar and 3 Gaspak EZ campy sachets (Becton Dickinson and Company, Franklin Lakes, NJ) were activated to induce a microaerophilic gas environment. The plates placed in plastic storage bags were flushed with a microaerophilic gas mixture from a premixed tank. For all 3 systems, plates were placed in a low-temperature incubator at 42°C for 24 h. After 24 h, plates were removed from the incubator and colonies were counted. The entire experiment was repeated 5 times. Results indicated no significant difference in colony counts among the gas-delivery systems tested, but colonies grown under the sachet-generated environment were smaller than colonies in the other 2 methods. Smaller colonies could have resulted from the type of media used or the length of time the plates were incubated. In conclusion, all 3 gas-delivery methods were able to produce similar Campylobacter growth results. Initial and long-term costs of equipment, as well as laboratory space availability, may be influential when choosing a gas-delivery method for generating a microaerophilic environment.

Variations in serum levels of dolichol and its occurrence in human atherosclerotic plaques.

Nonsaponifiable lipids of human atherosclerotic plaques obtained at autopsy from patients ranging in age from 45 to 85 years were analyzed by high pressure liquid chromatography. All plaques contained dolichol, ranging from 125 to 460 micrograms/g wet weight. Dolichol was also present in normal aortic tissue, but the amounts were generally less than in plaques. To investigate the source of the dolichol in plaques, blood serum was analyzed from both volunteer subjects and hypercholesterolemic patients. The levels of dolichol were generally higher in hypercholesterolemic compared with normal subjects, but were not correlated with levels of total or lipoprotein cholesterol. The homologue pattern of dolichol in atherosclerotic plaques differed from that of aorta and blood. The source of dolichol in plaques and its significance remains to be established.