- Email: [email protected]
Reproductive Characteristics in Cockerels Fed a High Level of Iodine
804
Y.
TAMAK! AND
gels: Group variations in the serum proteins of normal human adults. Biochem. J. 61: 629641. Tanabe, Y., 1962. Influence of age upon the ability of thyroxine and estrogen to increase serum alkaline phosphatase of the chicken. Gen. Compo Endocrino!. 2: 446- 452.
Y.
TANABE
Tanabe, Y., and F. H. Wilcox, 1960. Effect of age, sex and line on serum alkaline phosphatase of the chicken. Proc. Soc. Exp. BioI. Med. 103: 68- 70.
Wilcox, F. H ., 1966. A recessively inherited electrophoretic variant of alkaline phosphatase in chicken serum. Genetics, 53: 799-805 .
l
H.
R. WILSON AND
L. O.
ROWLAND,
JR.
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32601 (Received for publication January 2, 1970)
levels of iodine (5000 p.p.m. H IGH as potassium iodine) in the diet of laying hens have been found to cause a cessation of egg production within one week from the time feeding began (Perdomo et al., 1966). This effect is temporary and egg production returns to normal shortly after iodine feeding is stopped (Arrington et al., 1967; Wilson et al., 1967; Marcilese et al., 1968) . Old (18 months of age) birds seem to be affected more severely than young (7 months) birds (Arrington et al., 1967). In addition, Wilson et al. (1968) reported that development of the reproductive system of immature pullets was inhibited if iodine was fed prior to any development. Arrington et al. (1967) reported that the high dietary iodine did not inhibit formation of ova but that the ova were not ovulated. This would indicate that follicle stimulating hormone was not affected and that lutenizing hormone (or ovulation inducing hormone) was affected. The work of Marcilese et al. (1968) suggested the possibility of some direct effect of iodine on maturation of the
1 Florida Agricultural Experiment Station J ourna! Series No. 3515.
ovum and follicle due to accumulation of iodine in the developing ovum. According to Greep (1961) the role of the follicle stimulating hormone in male reproduction is the stimulation of growth and spermatogenic activity of the seminiferous tubules, while that of luteinizing hormone is to maintain the interstitial cells of the testes resulting in secretion of androgens. Both follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone would therefore be necessary for normal semen production and any effect on these hormones caused by feeding high levels of iodine to cockerels would be reflected in the quantity and quality of semen which they produced. The following experiments were conducted to determine the effects of feeding a high level of iodine on reproductive characteristics in mature cockerels. PROCEDURES
Four experiments were conducted using mature White Leghorn males which had previously been examined for normal semen production. The males in experiments 1 and 2 were housed in individual wire layer cages (25 X 46 cm.) and those in experiments 3 and 4 were housed in individual
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Nebraka-Lincoln Libraries on April 12, 2015
Reproductive Characteristics in Cockerels Fed a High Level of Iodine
805
IODINE AND MALE R EPRODUCTION
TABLE
TABLE
1.- Composition oj tlte control diet Ingredient
at
Corn Soybean Meal (50% protein) Alfalfa Meal (20% protein ) Defluorinated Phosphate (18% P and 32% Cal Ground Limestone Salt (Iodized) Micro-ingredients l
69.85 19.00 2.50
/0
1. 90 6.00 0.25 0 . 50
1 Supplies per kg. of diet: 6,600 LU. vitamin A; 2,200 LC.U. vitamin D3; 2.2 mg. menadione dimeth ylpyrimidinol bisulfite; 4.4 mg. riboflavin ; 13.2 mg. pantothenic acid; 39.6 mg. niacin; 499.4 mg. choline chloride; 22 mcg. vitamin B 12 ; 125 mg. ethoxyquin ; 83.6 mg. Mn; 19.8 mg. Fe; 1.98 mg. CUi 198 mcg. Co; 1.1 mg. 1 2 ; 99 mcg. Zn.
varIance to determine treatment differences. Each experiment was analyzed separately. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Feeding 5000 p.p.m. iodine to mature White Leghorn males did not significantly affect semen volume in any of the experiments (Table 3), although a slight numerical reduction was noted in most cases during treatment. Spermatozoa concentration tended to be slightly increased by feeding 5000 p.p.m. iodine (Table 4). This difference could be only partially attributed to changes in se-
2.- E x perimenlal design
Diet
Treatment Post-Treatment Period Period (Days) (Days)
Pre-treat.
Treat.
Post-treat.
Age at start of treat.
Control Control
Control Control+5000 p .p.m.I 2
Control Control
25 weeks 25 weeks
32 32
2
Control Control
Control Control+5000 p.p.m.I 2
Co ntrol Control
49 weeks 49 weeks
28 28
28 28
3
Control Control
Control Control+5000 p.p.m.1 2
Control Control
40 weeks 40 weeks
56 56
7 7
4
Control Control
Control Control+5000 p.p.m.12
Control Control
68 weeks 68 weeks
56 56
28 28
Exp.
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wire cockerel cages. Feed and water were furnished ad libitum. The control birds were fed a commercial type layer diet (Table 1) and the treated males were fed the control diet with 5000 p.p.m. iodine added in the form of potassium iodide. The feed was mixed weekly. All birds received natural daylight supplemented to provide a total of 15 hours per day. The experimental designs of the fo ur experiments are shown in Table 2. The replications per treatment consisted of three replicates of six birds each, four replicates of five birds each, and three replicates of five birds each for experiments 1 and 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Semen quality (volume, concentration, percent dead), fertility and hatchability data were obtained at the times indicated in Tables 3 and 6. Semen volume was measured by collecting the semen in a cc. syringe with a sealed tip. Spermatozoa concentration was determined according to the method of Jones and Wilson (1967) using an electronic particle counter. The percent dead spermatozoa was determined by the trypan blue method of Wilson et al. (1969). Fertility was determined by candling the eggs after 4 days of incubation. The data were subjected to analysis of
H.
806
R. WILSON AND
L.
O.
ROWLAND,
JR.
TABLE 3.- Semen volume collected from males fed 0 and 5000 p.p.ln. iodine Volume (cc.) Time During Experimentl
Experiment 1 Control
12
Pre-Treatment . 33 .44 . 47 .40 .36 . 45
.41 .46 . 52 .37 .39 .34
.42
.33
Post-Treatment (week) 1 2 3 4
Experiment 3
Experimen t 4
Control
12
Control
r.
Control
12
. 33
. 35
.49
. 52
. 26
.34
. 35 . 27 .32 .30
.29 .24 .2 7 .24
.54 .55 .53 . 50 .48 . 48 .48 .40
.50 .51 .47 .46 .50 .45 .44 .39
.28 .23 . 30 .23 .26 .23 .24 . 27 .23
.31 .28 . 27 .23 .27 .21 . 27 .25 .24
. 28 .27 .30 . 30
.24 .24 .29 .28
.55
.47
. 26 .23
.30 . 28
, Data in Experiment 1 were collec ted in the middle of the week (e.g., days 4, 11, etc.) wh ile data from t he other experiments were collected at the end of the week (e.g., days 7, 14-, etc.).
men volume since calculation of sperm per ejaculate shows a similar trend. Significant increases in the incidence of dead spermatozoa occurred in all experi-
ments due to feeding excess dietary iodine (Table 5) . The percentage of dead spermatozoa increased significantly after two to three weeks of iodine feeding in experi-
TABLE 4.-Spermato zoa concentration in semen f rom males fed 0 and 5000 p.p.1n. iodine Concentration (bil. / cc.) Time During Experim ent'
Exper iment 1 Control
12
Pre-T reat ment T reat ment (week) 1 3.8 1 2 3.89 4 .37 3 4, 3.58 :; 3.36 6 3.68 7 2 . 51 8 9 Post-T reat ment (week) 1 2 3 4 1
3.75 3.96 4.48 3.80 ·1.02 3.96
Experiment 2
E xperiment 4
Control
12
Control
I2
Control
12
5.39
6.12
6.77
7.40
6.43
6.41
6.33 6.01 5 .99 6.09
6.52 6.72 6.32 6.54
6.55 7.14 7 .45 6.99 6.99 7.27 7 .06 6.47
7.55 7. 17 7.02 6.25 6.70 6.49 6.93 7. 37*
6.45 6.73 7.50 6.15 7 . 26 6.35 5.89 5.85 6.58
6.89 6 .36 7.83 7.23 7.47 7.20 8. 11 * 7.45* 7.70*
4.51 4.29 5 .345.67
6.00* 5.68* 6.07 6.55
7. 28
7.13
5.82 6.45
5.83 6.88
2.29
See footnote 1, Table 3. (P < . 05) from controls.
* Significantly different
Experiment 3
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Treatment (week) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Experiment 2
807
IODINE AND MALE REPRODUCTION TABLE
5.- Dead spermatozoa in semen from males fed 0 and 5000 p.p.m. iodine Dead Spermatozoa (%)
Time During Experiment!
Experiment 2
Experiment 1 Control
SE'
2.3 1.4 1.8 1.6 0.7 0.6
2.8 3.4 3.8 4.6** 6.4' 4.3**
±0.6 ± 0.8 ± 0.5 ± 0.3 ± 0.9 ±0 .2
1.8
7.4'
± 0.9
Control
Experiment .3
Experiment 4
r,
SE'
± O. I
0 .8
0.9
± 0.3
1. 3
0.7
± 0 .9
1.4' 0.0** 0.5 0.0
0.4 0.1 0.2 0.0
0.8 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.8 2 .9 0. 3 0.5
2.7 4 .8 6.1 ** 3.7* 5.5** 4.7 5.1 ** 5.0**
±0.7 ± 1.8 ±0 . 3 ± 0.6 ± 0. 6 ± 0.7 ± 0. 9 ±0.3
1.3 0.5 0.4 0.9 0..1 2.2 0.3 1.8 0 .4
0 .8 4 .0** 2.0 1.7 2.2 3.4 1.8' 2.0 3.8
± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ±
1.1 1.5 1.6 1.5
0.2 0.6 0.7 0 .5
0.6
1.2
± 0.4
1.8
2.6 0.6
± 1.1 ± 0.2
I,
0.2
0.0
0 .7 0.3 0.1 0.0
0.3 0.2 0 .2 0.2
SE'
Control
I,
SE'
Control
1.1
0.6 0.4 0.5 0. 4 0.7 1.0 0.4 0 .9 I. 7
1 See footnote I, Table 3.
Standard error of the mean . , Significantly different (P < .05 ) from controls .
2
• * Significantly different (P <.01) from controls.
ments 1 and 3. However, the differences observed in experiments 2 and 4 were sporadic. Experiment 2, in contrast to the other experiments, was conducted during a period of high temperature and humidity which, it is postulated, would possibly have caused an increased loss of iodine from the feed through decomposition and volatilization (Ewing, 1963). In addition, feed consumption would be expected to be less during hot weather, and, when combined with decreased iodine potency in the feed would result in reduced effect on the bird. The feeding of iodine tended to increase the incidence of dead spermatozoa in experiment 4 as it did in experiments 1 and 3, however, the differences were significant only on the second and seventh week of treatment. The lack of significance in experiment 4 can be partially explained by a greater variability in relation to the lower average incidence of dead spermatozoa. Fertility was significantly decreased by feeding iodine (Table 6) in experiments 1 and 3, but not in experiments 2 and 4. The percent dead spermatozoa was also most severely affected in experiments 1 and 3 and is the probable cause of much of the
decrease in fertility. This association is compatible with previous reports (Wilson et at., 1969; Cooper and Rowell, 1958) of a negative correlation between percent dead spermatozoa and fertility. Hatchability was not significantly affected by the iodine treatment (Table 6). It was hypothesized that feeding the high level of iodine did not affect produc-
TABLE
6. - Fertility and hatchability in males fed o and 5000 p.p.m. iodine
Period of Experiment
Fertility (%) Control
Iodine
Hatchability (% fertile) Control Iodine
Experiment 1 Treatment (week) I 3 4 5 8
71.6 64.0 77.8 26.1** 71.5 34.7' 67.8 29.0** 71.3 8.2** Experiment 2
93.5 85.2 94.0 93.3 95 . 1
82.5 77.1 87.4 9·1.4 75 .3
Treatment (week) 1
Pre-Treatmen t Treatment (week) 2 8 Treatment (week) 9 Post-Treatment (week) 2
.17.9 48.6 Experiment 3 87.4 90.0
90. 1 66.0' 85.6 61.0' Experiment 4
92.4
85.7
84.4
84.4
89.5 79.4
75.9 87.8
78.S
74.2
79.9
82.5
73.3 .
75.2
68.1
63.8
1 See footnote I , Table 3. , Significantly different (P <.05) from controls. ., Significantly different (P <.01) from controls.
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Pre-Treatment Treatment (week) I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Post-Treatment (week) I 2 3 4
I2
808
H.
R. WILSON AND
SUMMARY
A series of four experiments was conducted to determine the effects of feed ing a high level of iodine ( 5000 p.p.m. iodine as KI) on reproductive characteristics in mature male White Leghorn chickens. The feed was mixed weekly and fed ad libitum. Semen volume, spermatozoa concentration, percent dead spermatozoa, fertility and hatchability were determined . Semen volume was not significantly affecte d by the iodine treatment. Spermatozoa concentration tended to be increased slightly in the birds which were fed iodine. The percent dead spermatozoa was significantly increased in three experiments and fertility was significantly decreased in two
ROWLAND,
JR.
experiments by feeding iodine. Hatchability was not significantly affected by the treatment. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge Florida State Hatcheries, Gainesville, Florida which furnished the birds used in experiment 3. REFERENCES Arrington, L. R, R A. Santa-Cruz, R H . Harms and H. R . Wilson, 1967. Effects of excess dietary iodine upon pullets and laying hens. J . Nutr. 92 : 325-330. Cooper, D. M., and J. G. R owell, 1958. R elations between fertili ty, embryo ni c survival and so me semen characteristics in the chicken. Poultry Sci. 37: 699- 707. Ewing, E. R, 1963. Poultry N utri tion, 5th ed., The Ray Ewing Company, Pasadena, California. Greep, R . 0., 1961. Physiology of the anterior hypophysis in relation to reproduction. Sex and Internal Secretions, Vol. 1, 3rd ed. , W. C. Young, ed., The Williams and Wilkins, Com pany, Baltimore. J ones, J . E., a nd H. R Wilson , 1967. Use of an electronic co unter for sperm concentration dete rmi nation in chicken semen. Poultry Sci. 46: 532- 533. Marcil ese, N . A. , R . H . Harms, R. M. Valsecchi and L. R . Arrington, 1968. I odin e uptake by ova of hens given excess iodine and effect upon ova development. J . N utr. 94: 117-120. Perdomo, J. T., R . H . Harms and L. R Arrington, 1966. Effect of dietary iodine upon egg product ion, fer tility and hatchability. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 122: 758-7 60. Wi lson, H. R, L . R . Arrington and R. H. Harms, 1968. High levels of dietary iodine for delaying sex ual maturity of egg production type pullets. Poultry Sci. 47: 1535-1539 . Wilson, H. R., J . L Fry, R H. H ar ms and L. R Arrington, 1967. Performance of hens molted by vari ous methods. P oultry Sci. 46: 1406141 2. Wilson, H. R, A. C. Warnick and J . H. Gutierrez, 1969. Differentiation of live fr om dead sperm atozoa in cock semen. Poultry Sci. 48: 714- 717.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Nebraka-Lincoln Libraries on April 12, 2015
tion of spermatozoa per se, but perhaps affected the cells directly, or through indirect effects on other physiological systems. This would lend support to the hypothesis that the effect of iodine on egg production in the female (Arrington et al., 1967 ; Wilson et at., 1967; Marcilese et al ., 1968) may be directly on the ovum rather than via hormones such as follicle stimulating hormone or luteinizing hormone, but would not exclude progesterone. An iodine toxicity effect was noted in experiment 1 after 6 weeks of treatment when two birds became immobile and subsequently died. No toxicity effects were observed in experiment 2 in which reproductive characteristics were affected very little. In experiments 3 and 4 the first symptoms of iodism were noted at 5 days, became moderate at 7 days, and severe in many birds at 10- 14 days. The observed symptoms were altered reflexes, vertigo and diarrhea. These symptoms almost entirely disappeared within the first week after the birds were returned to the control diet.
L. O.
Y.
TAMAK! AND
gels: Group variations in the serum proteins of normal human adults. Biochem. J. 61: 629641. Tanabe, Y., 1962. Influence of age upon the ability of thyroxine and estrogen to increase serum alkaline phosphatase of the chicken. Gen. Compo Endocrino!. 2: 446- 452.
Y.
TANABE
Tanabe, Y., and F. H. Wilcox, 1960. Effect of age, sex and line on serum alkaline phosphatase of the chicken. Proc. Soc. Exp. BioI. Med. 103: 68- 70.
Wilcox, F. H ., 1966. A recessively inherited electrophoretic variant of alkaline phosphatase in chicken serum. Genetics, 53: 799-805 .
l
H.
R. WILSON AND
L. O.
ROWLAND,
JR.
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32601 (Received for publication January 2, 1970)
levels of iodine (5000 p.p.m. H IGH as potassium iodine) in the diet of laying hens have been found to cause a cessation of egg production within one week from the time feeding began (Perdomo et al., 1966). This effect is temporary and egg production returns to normal shortly after iodine feeding is stopped (Arrington et al., 1967; Wilson et al., 1967; Marcilese et al., 1968) . Old (18 months of age) birds seem to be affected more severely than young (7 months) birds (Arrington et al., 1967). In addition, Wilson et al. (1968) reported that development of the reproductive system of immature pullets was inhibited if iodine was fed prior to any development. Arrington et al. (1967) reported that the high dietary iodine did not inhibit formation of ova but that the ova were not ovulated. This would indicate that follicle stimulating hormone was not affected and that lutenizing hormone (or ovulation inducing hormone) was affected. The work of Marcilese et al. (1968) suggested the possibility of some direct effect of iodine on maturation of the
1 Florida Agricultural Experiment Station J ourna! Series No. 3515.
ovum and follicle due to accumulation of iodine in the developing ovum. According to Greep (1961) the role of the follicle stimulating hormone in male reproduction is the stimulation of growth and spermatogenic activity of the seminiferous tubules, while that of luteinizing hormone is to maintain the interstitial cells of the testes resulting in secretion of androgens. Both follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone would therefore be necessary for normal semen production and any effect on these hormones caused by feeding high levels of iodine to cockerels would be reflected in the quantity and quality of semen which they produced. The following experiments were conducted to determine the effects of feeding a high level of iodine on reproductive characteristics in mature cockerels. PROCEDURES
Four experiments were conducted using mature White Leghorn males which had previously been examined for normal semen production. The males in experiments 1 and 2 were housed in individual wire layer cages (25 X 46 cm.) and those in experiments 3 and 4 were housed in individual
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Nebraka-Lincoln Libraries on April 12, 2015
Reproductive Characteristics in Cockerels Fed a High Level of Iodine
805
IODINE AND MALE R EPRODUCTION
TABLE
TABLE
1.- Composition oj tlte control diet Ingredient
at
Corn Soybean Meal (50% protein) Alfalfa Meal (20% protein ) Defluorinated Phosphate (18% P and 32% Cal Ground Limestone Salt (Iodized) Micro-ingredients l
69.85 19.00 2.50
/0
1. 90 6.00 0.25 0 . 50
1 Supplies per kg. of diet: 6,600 LU. vitamin A; 2,200 LC.U. vitamin D3; 2.2 mg. menadione dimeth ylpyrimidinol bisulfite; 4.4 mg. riboflavin ; 13.2 mg. pantothenic acid; 39.6 mg. niacin; 499.4 mg. choline chloride; 22 mcg. vitamin B 12 ; 125 mg. ethoxyquin ; 83.6 mg. Mn; 19.8 mg. Fe; 1.98 mg. CUi 198 mcg. Co; 1.1 mg. 1 2 ; 99 mcg. Zn.
varIance to determine treatment differences. Each experiment was analyzed separately. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Feeding 5000 p.p.m. iodine to mature White Leghorn males did not significantly affect semen volume in any of the experiments (Table 3), although a slight numerical reduction was noted in most cases during treatment. Spermatozoa concentration tended to be slightly increased by feeding 5000 p.p.m. iodine (Table 4). This difference could be only partially attributed to changes in se-
2.- E x perimenlal design
Diet
Treatment Post-Treatment Period Period (Days) (Days)
Pre-treat.
Treat.
Post-treat.
Age at start of treat.
Control Control
Control Control+5000 p .p.m.I 2
Control Control
25 weeks 25 weeks
32 32
2
Control Control
Control Control+5000 p.p.m.I 2
Co ntrol Control
49 weeks 49 weeks
28 28
28 28
3
Control Control
Control Control+5000 p.p.m.1 2
Control Control
40 weeks 40 weeks
56 56
7 7
4
Control Control
Control Control+5000 p.p.m.12
Control Control
68 weeks 68 weeks
56 56
28 28
Exp.
Downloaded from http://ps.oxfordjournals.org/ at University of Nebraka-Lincoln Libraries on April 12, 2015
wire cockerel cages. Feed and water were furnished ad libitum. The control birds were fed a commercial type layer diet (Table 1) and the treated males were fed the control diet with 5000 p.p.m. iodine added in the form of potassium iodide. The feed was mixed weekly. All birds received natural daylight supplemented to provide a total of 15 hours per day. The experimental designs of the fo ur experiments are shown in Table 2. The replications per treatment consisted of three replicates of six birds each, four replicates of five birds each, and three replicates of five birds each for experiments 1 and 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Semen quality (volume, concentration, percent dead), fertility and hatchability data were obtained at the times indicated in Tables 3 and 6. Semen volume was measured by collecting the semen in a cc. syringe with a sealed tip. Spermatozoa concentration was determined according to the method of Jones and Wilson (1967) using an electronic particle counter. The percent dead spermatozoa was determined by the trypan blue method of Wilson et al. (1969). Fertility was determined by candling the eggs after 4 days of incubation. The data were subjected to analysis of
H.
806
R. WILSON AND
L.
O.
ROWLAND,
JR.
TABLE 3.- Semen volume collected from males fed 0 and 5000 p.p.ln. iodine Volume (cc.) Time During Experimentl
Experiment 1 Control
12
Pre-Treatment . 33 .44 . 47 .40 .36 . 45
.41 .46 . 52 .37 .39 .34
.42
.33
Post-Treatment (week) 1 2 3 4
Experiment 3
Experimen t 4
Control
12
Control
r.
Control
12
. 33
. 35
.49
. 52
. 26
.34
. 35 . 27 .32 .30
.29 .24 .2 7 .24
.54 .55 .53 . 50 .48 . 48 .48 .40
.50 .51 .47 .46 .50 .45 .44 .39
.28 .23 . 30 .23 .26 .23 .24 . 27 .23
.31 .28 . 27 .23 .27 .21 . 27 .25 .24
. 28 .27 .30 . 30
.24 .24 .29 .28
.55
.47
. 26 .23
.30 . 28
, Data in Experiment 1 were collec ted in the middle of the week (e.g., days 4, 11, etc.) wh ile data from t he other experiments were collected at the end of the week (e.g., days 7, 14-, etc.).
men volume since calculation of sperm per ejaculate shows a similar trend. Significant increases in the incidence of dead spermatozoa occurred in all experi-
ments due to feeding excess dietary iodine (Table 5) . The percentage of dead spermatozoa increased significantly after two to three weeks of iodine feeding in experi-
TABLE 4.-Spermato zoa concentration in semen f rom males fed 0 and 5000 p.p.1n. iodine Concentration (bil. / cc.) Time During Experim ent'
Exper iment 1 Control
12
Pre-T reat ment T reat ment (week) 1 3.8 1 2 3.89 4 .37 3 4, 3.58 :; 3.36 6 3.68 7 2 . 51 8 9 Post-T reat ment (week) 1 2 3 4 1
3.75 3.96 4.48 3.80 ·1.02 3.96
Experiment 2
E xperiment 4
Control
12
Control
I2
Control
12
5.39
6.12
6.77
7.40
6.43
6.41
6.33 6.01 5 .99 6.09
6.52 6.72 6.32 6.54
6.55 7.14 7 .45 6.99 6.99 7.27 7 .06 6.47
7.55 7. 17 7.02 6.25 6.70 6.49 6.93 7. 37*
6.45 6.73 7.50 6.15 7 . 26 6.35 5.89 5.85 6.58
6.89 6 .36 7.83 7.23 7.47 7.20 8. 11 * 7.45* 7.70*
4.51 4.29 5 .345.67
6.00* 5.68* 6.07 6.55
7. 28
7.13
5.82 6.45
5.83 6.88
2.29
See footnote 1, Table 3. (P < . 05) from controls.
* Significantly different
Experiment 3
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Treatment (week) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Experiment 2
807
IODINE AND MALE REPRODUCTION TABLE
5.- Dead spermatozoa in semen from males fed 0 and 5000 p.p.m. iodine Dead Spermatozoa (%)
Time During Experiment!
Experiment 2
Experiment 1 Control
SE'
2.3 1.4 1.8 1.6 0.7 0.6
2.8 3.4 3.8 4.6** 6.4' 4.3**
±0.6 ± 0.8 ± 0.5 ± 0.3 ± 0.9 ±0 .2
1.8
7.4'
± 0.9
Control
Experiment .3
Experiment 4
r,
SE'
± O. I
0 .8
0.9
± 0.3
1. 3
0.7
± 0 .9
1.4' 0.0** 0.5 0.0
0.4 0.1 0.2 0.0
0.8 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.8 2 .9 0. 3 0.5
2.7 4 .8 6.1 ** 3.7* 5.5** 4.7 5.1 ** 5.0**
±0.7 ± 1.8 ±0 . 3 ± 0.6 ± 0. 6 ± 0.7 ± 0. 9 ±0.3
1.3 0.5 0.4 0.9 0..1 2.2 0.3 1.8 0 .4
0 .8 4 .0** 2.0 1.7 2.2 3.4 1.8' 2.0 3.8
± ± ± ± ± ± ± ± ±
1.1 1.5 1.6 1.5
0.2 0.6 0.7 0 .5
0.6
1.2
± 0.4
1.8
2.6 0.6
± 1.1 ± 0.2
I,
0.2
0.0
0 .7 0.3 0.1 0.0
0.3 0.2 0 .2 0.2
SE'
Control
I,
SE'
Control
1.1
0.6 0.4 0.5 0. 4 0.7 1.0 0.4 0 .9 I. 7
1 See footnote I, Table 3.
Standard error of the mean . , Significantly different (P < .05 ) from controls .
2
• * Significantly different (P <.01) from controls.
ments 1 and 3. However, the differences observed in experiments 2 and 4 were sporadic. Experiment 2, in contrast to the other experiments, was conducted during a period of high temperature and humidity which, it is postulated, would possibly have caused an increased loss of iodine from the feed through decomposition and volatilization (Ewing, 1963). In addition, feed consumption would be expected to be less during hot weather, and, when combined with decreased iodine potency in the feed would result in reduced effect on the bird. The feeding of iodine tended to increase the incidence of dead spermatozoa in experiment 4 as it did in experiments 1 and 3, however, the differences were significant only on the second and seventh week of treatment. The lack of significance in experiment 4 can be partially explained by a greater variability in relation to the lower average incidence of dead spermatozoa. Fertility was significantly decreased by feeding iodine (Table 6) in experiments 1 and 3, but not in experiments 2 and 4. The percent dead spermatozoa was also most severely affected in experiments 1 and 3 and is the probable cause of much of the
decrease in fertility. This association is compatible with previous reports (Wilson et at., 1969; Cooper and Rowell, 1958) of a negative correlation between percent dead spermatozoa and fertility. Hatchability was not significantly affected by the iodine treatment (Table 6). It was hypothesized that feeding the high level of iodine did not affect produc-
TABLE
6. - Fertility and hatchability in males fed o and 5000 p.p.m. iodine
Period of Experiment
Fertility (%) Control
Iodine
Hatchability (% fertile) Control Iodine
Experiment 1 Treatment (week) I 3 4 5 8
71.6 64.0 77.8 26.1** 71.5 34.7' 67.8 29.0** 71.3 8.2** Experiment 2
93.5 85.2 94.0 93.3 95 . 1
82.5 77.1 87.4 9·1.4 75 .3
Treatment (week) 1
Pre-Treatmen t Treatment (week) 2 8 Treatment (week) 9 Post-Treatment (week) 2
.17.9 48.6 Experiment 3 87.4 90.0
90. 1 66.0' 85.6 61.0' Experiment 4
92.4
85.7
84.4
84.4
89.5 79.4
75.9 87.8
78.S
74.2
79.9
82.5
73.3 .
75.2
68.1
63.8
1 See footnote I , Table 3. , Significantly different (P <.05) from controls. ., Significantly different (P <.01) from controls.
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Pre-Treatment Treatment (week) I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Post-Treatment (week) I 2 3 4
I2
808
H.
R. WILSON AND
SUMMARY
A series of four experiments was conducted to determine the effects of feed ing a high level of iodine ( 5000 p.p.m. iodine as KI) on reproductive characteristics in mature male White Leghorn chickens. The feed was mixed weekly and fed ad libitum. Semen volume, spermatozoa concentration, percent dead spermatozoa, fertility and hatchability were determined . Semen volume was not significantly affecte d by the iodine treatment. Spermatozoa concentration tended to be increased slightly in the birds which were fed iodine. The percent dead spermatozoa was significantly increased in three experiments and fertility was significantly decreased in two
ROWLAND,
JR.
experiments by feeding iodine. Hatchability was not significantly affected by the treatment. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors gratefully acknowledge Florida State Hatcheries, Gainesville, Florida which furnished the birds used in experiment 3. REFERENCES Arrington, L. R, R A. Santa-Cruz, R H . Harms and H. R . Wilson, 1967. Effects of excess dietary iodine upon pullets and laying hens. J . Nutr. 92 : 325-330. Cooper, D. M., and J. G. R owell, 1958. R elations between fertili ty, embryo ni c survival and so me semen characteristics in the chicken. Poultry Sci. 37: 699- 707. Ewing, E. R, 1963. Poultry N utri tion, 5th ed., The Ray Ewing Company, Pasadena, California. Greep, R . 0., 1961. Physiology of the anterior hypophysis in relation to reproduction. Sex and Internal Secretions, Vol. 1, 3rd ed. , W. C. Young, ed., The Williams and Wilkins, Com pany, Baltimore. J ones, J . E., a nd H. R Wilson , 1967. Use of an electronic co unter for sperm concentration dete rmi nation in chicken semen. Poultry Sci. 46: 532- 533. Marcil ese, N . A. , R . H . Harms, R. M. Valsecchi and L. R . Arrington, 1968. I odin e uptake by ova of hens given excess iodine and effect upon ova development. J . N utr. 94: 117-120. Perdomo, J. T., R . H . Harms and L. R Arrington, 1966. Effect of dietary iodine upon egg product ion, fer tility and hatchability. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 122: 758-7 60. Wi lson, H. R, L . R . Arrington and R. H. Harms, 1968. High levels of dietary iodine for delaying sex ual maturity of egg production type pullets. Poultry Sci. 47: 1535-1539 . Wilson, H. R., J . L Fry, R H. H ar ms and L. R Arrington, 1967. Performance of hens molted by vari ous methods. P oultry Sci. 46: 1406141 2. Wilson, H. R, A. C. Warnick and J . H. Gutierrez, 1969. Differentiation of live fr om dead sperm atozoa in cock semen. Poultry Sci. 48: 714- 717.
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tion of spermatozoa per se, but perhaps affected the cells directly, or through indirect effects on other physiological systems. This would lend support to the hypothesis that the effect of iodine on egg production in the female (Arrington et al., 1967 ; Wilson et at., 1967; Marcilese et al ., 1968) may be directly on the ovum rather than via hormones such as follicle stimulating hormone or luteinizing hormone, but would not exclude progesterone. An iodine toxicity effect was noted in experiment 1 after 6 weeks of treatment when two birds became immobile and subsequently died. No toxicity effects were observed in experiment 2 in which reproductive characteristics were affected very little. In experiments 3 and 4 the first symptoms of iodism were noted at 5 days, became moderate at 7 days, and severe in many birds at 10- 14 days. The observed symptoms were altered reflexes, vertigo and diarrhea. These symptoms almost entirely disappeared within the first week after the birds were returned to the control diet.
L. O.