The aim of the work was to evaluate the quality of boar ejaculate in terms of sperm morphology and the influence on fertility of sows. The data came from 58 sperm collections from 8 boars of one line. The boars were housed in the semen collection centre under the same conditions and were in age from 11 to 21 months. In the ejaculate analysis, the evaluation of the pathologically changed sperms was performed by determining the frequency of the finding of individual morphological changes. To evaluate the effect of semen on the litter size, data from 123 successful inseminations and subsequent births were processed. The results showed that boars in most cases produced ejaculate with an average volume with a lower sperm concentration. The incidence of morphologically abnormal sperms was normal for almost all boars. The most common sperm abnormalities were immature sperms and defects of sperm flagella. It was confirmed that more piglets were born after using insemination doses made from sperm ejaculate with the higher sperm count. Furthermore, when using ejaculate with a morphologically abnormal sperm count below 15%, more piglets were born than when the sperm count was 1525%. In the case of immature sperms, a negative correlation with the number of born piglets has been proven.

My degree work focused on the problem of involuntary childlessness, which is a situation that a number of couples are facing nowadays and this issue has been growing. The work specifically deals with the donor programme in assisted reproduction. I described the method of treatment with the use of donor gametes and ethical and legislative issues related to it. The empiric part of the work is divided into two research projects each of which corresponds with one objective of the work. The first one monitors the situation when receiving couples are making a decision whether to join the assisted reproduction programme with donor gametes and the mental and social consequences of this situation. This research part is based on partly structured and non-structured interviews with 10 couples and on observations. The data was transcribed and subsequently qualitatively analysed. The second research comprises data obtained from non-structured interviews with female donors and from on-site observations. This part relates to the second objective of the degree work. In the discussion section of the work the interviews and observations are assessed and compared with literature on this topic. I focused mainly on the issue of anonymous donation, on motivation of oocyte donors and on subsequent comparison with receivers´ expectations. Based on the research I determined a hypothesis that donation of gametes is a difficult problem which our society should deal with in detail. This degree work could be used by people from centres of assisted reproduction. It can also be used as a study material by students of the Faculty of Health and Social Studies, especially those who attend the midwife course.

The diploma thesis analyzes market in human reproductive cells - men's sperms and women's eggs for use in assisted reproduction. The topic of this diploma thesis arises from the increasing infertility and urgency of the assisted reproduction in the modern society. This paper is divided in two parts. The first part of this paper describes a historical development of assisted reproduction and than economic theory that is applicable to the human reproductive cells market namely the theory of the prohibition and the theory of the price regulation. Second part analyzes three different reproductive cells markets -- American, British and Czech market. Second part also discus arguments and criticism of the free human organ markets included human reproductive cells market. This paper brings integrated summary based on arguments evaluating free trade with human sperms and eggs.

Mammalian sperm must undergo the process of capacitation - series of physiological and biochemical modifications prior fertilization. In last stage of capacitation sperm undergoes acrosome reaction (AR). During AR the cell membrane of the sperm fuses with the outer acrosomal membrane and the contents of acrosomal vesicle are released into extracellular space. Sperm which did not undergo AR or sperm missing acrosome at all are unable to fertilize. AR results into dramatical changes in the sperm head. Most of the proteins present in plasmatic and outer acrosomal membrane are reorganized or lost. There are also significant changes in cytoskeletal and intraacrosomal proteins are released to extracellular space uncovering new surface domains. Some sperms undergo AR even without presence of inductor of AR during capacitation in vitro. This event is called spontaneous (accelerated) AR. The latest research indicates that spontaneous AR is natural part of the process of fertilization. Field mice (Apodemus) show high level of promiscuity leading to significant risk of sperm competition. Unique reproduction strategy where the sperms form so-called sperm trains was evolved in field mice. Spontaneous AR is probably enabling the dissociation of sperms from the sperm train. The spontaneous AR rate is dependent on...

There are an increasing amount of compounds in the environment that can have a negative effect on reproductive parameters in both male and female organism. There has been a worldwide decline of sperm quality during past decades and this fact lead to an increase of unnatural ways of conception through assisted reproduction techniques in the specialised centres. Natural estrogens are one of these compounds and they get into waste water after being excluded from the body by the urine. They get back into the human body from drinking water or from the food, and they can interfere with function of endogenous hormones in very low concentrations. For these reasons it is up to date to deal with the influence of these compounds on mammalian sperm. For many years, estrogens have been considered typically female sex hormones. It is now certain that they are also very important in the regulation of male reproduction. Endogenous estrogens in mammalian males are an important part of the endocrine system. Estrogens play an important role in the development of germ cells, spermatogenesis and processes leading to successful egg fertilization such as a capacitation or acrosomal reaction. Tyrosine phosphorylation is one of the essential steps for the properly ongoing process of capacitation in sperm followed by a...

Sexual conflict is a term that describes the situation where traits can experience opposing selection pressures in the two sexes. Theory suggests this conflict exists in all organisms with separate sexes, and specific chromosome clusters which are possibly sexually antagonistic have been identified in the species Drosophila melanogaster. One of all identified genes is CG3598, which have proved yielding higher fitness for males carrying allele A2 on this gene compared to A1. In this study, factors which contribute to the difference in fitness between these two alleles, with regards to sperm competition and mating success were observed. A double mating design was used, in which males and females were placed in test tubes together in order to examine the number of copulations and the defensive (P1) and offensive (P2) ability of sperm. The relative fitness of males carrying A1 did not differ from males carrying A2, which rejects previous studies, however, A2 had a higher defensive capability compared to A1. On the other hand, A1 instead had better offensive capability and higher amount of rematings. This indicates that the defensive capability of A2 is very strong and opposes the offensive capability of A1, but also the increased rate of rematings in A1. To get a more precise understanding of the fitness relation between A1 and A2 on the gene CG3598, further experiments would need to be performed on the subject. / Sexuell konflikt är ett begrepp som beskriver förhållandet där egenskaper upplever olika selektionstryck beroende på kön. Teorier finns om att den här konflikten existerar i alla organismer med olika kön, och i arten Drosophila melanogaster har det identifierats specifika kromosomkluster som har möjlighet att bidra till sexuell konflikt. En utav alla identifierade gener är CG3598 som har påvisats ge en högre fitness för hanar bärande allel A2 på denna gen jämfört med allel A1. I den här studien undersöks bakomliggande faktorer till skillnaden i fitness mellan dessa två alleler, med avseende på spermiekonkurrens och parningsframgång. Genom en dubbel parningsdesign, där hanar och honor placerades tillsammans i rör undersöktes den defensiva spermieförmågan (P1), den offensiva förmågan (P2) och antal parningar. Den relativa fitnessen hos hanar med A1 skiljde sig inte från A2, vilket motsäger tidigare studier. Däremot var den defensiva förmågan högre för A2 och A1 hade istället högre offensiv förmåga samt en högre andel omparningar. Detta indikerar att A2 har en stark defensiv förmåga som motsätter den offensiva förmågan i A1 men också möjligheten till fler omparningar. För att få en mer precis uppfattning skulle ytterligare experiment behöva utföras då det i denna studie var en väldigt låg andel hanar som parade sig jämfört med vad som förväntas.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15% of couples in reproductive age suffer from infertility problems, and up to 60% of cases are caused by male factor. Causes of this condition could be genetic background, environmental factors and various diseases, including diabetes mellitus (DM). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of DM on reproductive parameters and expression of selected testicular genes using mouse model (FVB inbred mouse strain). DM (type 1) was artificially induced by chemical substance streptozotocin, which causes destruction of pancreatic β cells. These mice were exposed to diabetic condition for 6 weeks and then subjected to analysis. Our results have shown that diabetic condition had an impact on body weight, weight of reproductive organs as well as kidneys and livers. We also observed decreased concentration and viability of diabetic sperm compared to control. Moreover, we noticed increased staining with apoptotic marker annexin V. Further, we evaluated changes of sperm nuclear proteins - protamines. In diabetic animals, we observed higher number of sperm with insufficient protamination. Nevertheless, protamine 1 to protamine 2 ratio (P1/P2), a marker of male fertility, was not altered in sperm of diabetic animals compared to control. Regarding the...

Infertility is defined as an inability to conceive a child within one year of regular sexual intercourse. It affects up to 15 % of couples worldwide (WHO, 2010). The male factor contributes to the total infertility with more than 50 %. Fertility of a man is influenced by several factors such as genetic background, environment and various diseases such as diabetes mellitus (DM). Diabetes mellitus is a serious health problem that affects 451 million people worldwide (18-99 years) and the number of people with this disease still increases (Cho a spol., 2018). In addition, parenthood is postponed to middle age when the fertility decreases and metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2) appear. The aim of this thesis was to investigate the effect of type 2 diabetes on reproductive parameters of mouse inbred line C57BL/6J compared to the control group and the possible effect of paternal diabetes on the first filial generation. In the evaluation of the effect of DM2 on reproductive parameters, we used innovative methods to study internal state of sperm and testes. Results of our work showed that DM2 influenced the weight of body, prostate and liver. The weight of testes, epididymis and liver was reduced in the offspring. Furthermore, sperm morphology and intraacrosomal protein status were...

In the nature, crayfish are represented like predators or a part of food base of some fish. Also in free waters they acts as detrivors and are an important element in the nutrient and energy circle in aquatic ecosystem. The crayfish weren't able to avoid negative impacts of anthropogenic activities such as water pollution and devastation of habitats. For these reasons reproduction of the crayfish is necessary in hatcheries and farms. The main aim of my work was to study the reproductive biology of the crayfish focused on the process of mating, the interval between mating and laying eggs, fertilization and morphological structure of the male and female gametes. Among the secondary objectives there was included using of repeated electrostimulation of the crayfish and the possibility of hybrids of the noble crayfish (Astacus astacus) and the narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus). The observation of the period of reproduction was realized on representativies of the noble crayfish and the narrow-clawed crayfish throughout natural mating in the tanks. The structure of gametes was observed on the samples taken from thenoble crayfish (Astacus astacus), the narrow-clawed crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus), the signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus), the red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) and spinycheek crayfish (Orconectes limosus). The experiments were carried out during the autumn season in 2012 and 2013. The results of observations of the reproduction of crayfish made us clear as for the period and intervals for all phases of the process of mating crayfish. For females the noble crayfish and the narrow-clawed crayfish was found oviposition without the presence of males. Their individual components have been described by using ultrastructure of males and female gametes. Repeated electrostimulation showed at the family Astacidae as a suitable tool for collecting large mass of sperm material. Hybridization experiment proved that it can occur to mate the two species of crayfish in areas where they occur simultaneously. These experiments helped to further knowledge of reproductive biology of crayfish.

The effect of gamete storage on sperm quality has received considerable attention in recent years. Previous studies have shown that spermatozoa stored in vivo or in vitro for a long time can lost their motility and fertilization capacity. Moreover, it have been concluded that male fertilization potential is highly dependent, not only on spermatozoa motility parameters, but also on organic components including protein composition of seminal plasma. On the other hand, spermatozoa motility and protein profiles of seminal plasma are highly dependent on conditions of storage. Therefore, additional data about effects of in vivo and in vitro storage on quality sperm parameters and protein composition of seminal plasma are essential for development of fish artificial reproduction methods. In the current work the influence of in vitro and in vivo storage on parameters of sperm motility, DNA integrity, antioxidant defensive system and seminal plasma protein composition were studied. As a conclusion, the results of this study provide new data on sperm quality and quantity parameters of chondrostean and teleost fish species with respect to in vivo and in vitro storage capacities, which should be beneficial for the development of aquaculture of these species. The data confirmed that protein patterns in seminal plasma varied during in vivo storage, depending on time of sperm collection. Furthermore, the altered proteins are probably involved in enzymatic pathways that regulate spermatozoa movement. In practice, the results presented in this thesis should help to improve management and optimize the development of protocols for artificial reproduction.