Abstract
Coagulum in the semen of some primates plays different roles, depending on the species. In the present study, we examined sperm motility in the coagulum and liquid portions of semen collected from captive individuals from two great ape species: two adult Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) (n = 27) and three adult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) (n = 14). The results revealed that orangutan sperm remained motile for significantly longer in the coagulum than in the liquid portion (> 18 h). By contrast, chimpanzee sperm motility did not differ significantly over time between the two portions of the semen, although motility was slightly higher in the liquid portion than in the coagulum. The evolution of the seminal coagulum is thought to be related to postcopulatory sperm competition; however, functions of seminal coagulum have not been completely elucidated. Our data from the orangutan semen suggest that in this species, seminal coagulum may strengthen own-sperm survival. This report is the first to provide evidence for this distinctive function of the seminal coagulum. This unique property of orangutan seminal coagulum might be attributable to their reproductive traits, e.g., difficulty in predicting ovulation due to a lack of genital swelling during estrus. The orangutan is a Critically Endangered species, and captive breeding, including artificial insemination (AI), is expected. However, worldwide, only one case of orangutan AI has been successful. Our findings may contribute to an understanding of their basic semen characteristics and help improve the AI method.
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20 April 2021
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-021-00911-z
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Acknowledgments
The authors are grateful to the veterinarians and keepers of Zoorasia Yokohama Zoological Gardens, Chiba Zoological Park, Preservation and Research Center of the City of Yokohama, Japan Monkey Centre, and Kumamoto Sanctuary for their generous assistance. This work was supported by the Inui Tasuke Scientific Foundation, JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) (16K18482 to KK, 16K18630 to TH), the Cooperation Research Program of Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, and Grant-in-Aid for Research in Nagoya City University.
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Conceptualization: KK; Methodology: KK, NK, EM, TK, TN, FO, NM, YM, YO, SH; Formal analysis and investigation: KK, YI, TT, NK, EM; Writing—original draft preparation: KK; Writing—review and editing: KK, TT, NK; Funding acquisition: KK, TH, YO; Resources: TK, TN, MOgata, TH, SH.; Supervision: MOkamoto, YO, SH.
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The original article was revised to remove the co-corresponding authorship of Takashi Hayakawa.
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Kinoshita, K., Indo, Y., Tajima, T. et al. Comparative analysis of sperm motility in liquid and seminal coagulum portions between Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) and chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes). Primates 62, 467–473 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-020-00887-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10329-020-00887-2