The University of Missouri System was awarded $500,000 under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) competitive grants program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The project grant funding will support research and development of semen extenders to improve artificial insemination efficiency and pregnancy rates in swine and dairy cattle industries. Specifically, the university researchers will develop techniques to assess sperm zinc content as a tool to evaluate semen quality and male fertility. They will also design semen extenders optimized for sperm zinc content to mitigate premature sperm capacitation and maximize ubiquitin-proteasome system function during semen processing and distribution. Finally, the researchers aim to identify sperm functions and properties regulated by zinc. The goals are to maximize sperm survival and fertility when artificial insemination semen doses are processed and distributed to farms, thereby improving farm animal reproduction outcomes. Insights gained from this research are expected to enhance understanding of sperm capacitation and inform future artificial insemination semen methodology. The period of performance is July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2026.
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