Variations in the length of the Y chromosome and the seminal attributes of Karan Fries bulls

Abstract

Fresh semen and blood samples from 20 Karan Fries bulls (4-6 years of age), maintained at the Artificial Breeding Complex of the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, were collected for one year. All the bulls had 60 chromosomes, comprising 58 acrocentric autosomes and 2 sex chromosomes, with X as the larger and Y as the smaller submetacentric. The mean lengths of Yp and Yq; the total length of the Y chromosome and the length ratio were 1.10 +/- 0.01 microm, 1.83 +/- 0.02 microm, 2.92 +/- 0.02 microm and 62.46% +/- 0.18%, respectively. Analysis of the length measurements of the the Y chromosomes in Karan Fries bulls showed that all the measurements, viz., the short arm of the Y chromosome, the long arm of the Y chromosome, the total length of the Y chromosome and the variation in length of Y chromosome, varied significantly among bulls. All the seminal parameters, the volume of semen, mass activity, initial motility, concentration, live sperm count and the total abnormal sperm count, were significantly affected by bulls, whereas season had a significant effect on all the seminal parameters except the total abnormal sperm count. No significant relationship between the ratio of the long arm to the total length of the Y chromosome and seminal attributes was observed.