Exposure of turkey sperm to a synthetic peptide before insemination increases fertility

Effects on fertility and hatch of eggs laid by hens inseminated with sperm exposed to a synthetic peptide were studied. Pooled semen from 40 randomly selected toms was split and held in vitro for 0 or 24 h before use. Just before insemination, sperm (at 8.33 x 10(9) sperm/mL) were exposed for 5 min to 0.0, 0.05, 0.25, or 0.50 mu M peptide. Hens (28 per group) were inseminated within less than 30 min with 250 x 10(6) in 30 mu L. Two inseminations 24 h before onset of lay were followed by weekly inseminations through 22 or 20 wk. For sperm that was fresh or held 24 h, peptide treatment (P < 0.02 or 0.01) and week of lay (P < 0.01) affected fertility and hatch of total eggs set. There was no effect of peptide treatment on hatchability of fertile eggs. For fresh sperm, use of 0.25 mu M peptide, but not 0.05 or 5.0 mu M peptide, increased (P < 0.05) fertility and hatch of total eggs set compared with the control (0 mu M). Values for fertility were 94 vs. 90% and for hatch were 84 vs. 80%. Increases in hatch were especially evident for fresh sperm after approximately 13 wk of lay.