Impact of protein supplementation on semen quality, fertility, and BMP1R gene expression in sheep of Bangladesh

A study was carried out to know the impact of protein supplementation on fertility and expressions of the fertility gene BMP1R. Three International Organization for Standardization (ISO), isocaloric but different levels of protein supplement ration (11.70% crude protein [CP] for control/To, 12.99% CP for T1, and 13.86% CP for T2) were fed to three different groups of sheep. DNA was extracted from the whole blood sample for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the BMP1R fertility gene, and purified PCR products were sequenced by a Sanger sequencer. Sequence alignment, pair, and multi-alignment comparison of the BMP1R gene of the species were done with MEGA6. The semen volume (1.0 mL), sperm counts (4.2 × 10(7) million), and percentage of normal (94.3%) and viable sperm (3.7%) were higher in treatment 2 than in the other two groups. The semen volume (1.0 mL), sperm counts (4.2 × 107 million), and the percentage of normal (94.3%) and viable sperm (3.7%) were higher in treatment 2 than in the other two groups. Ewes treated with supplemented, protein concentrate reached the conception at an earlier age (treatment 1, 9.5 ± 0.16 mo and treatment 2, 10.3 ± 0.04 mo) than control (9.8 ± 0.15 mo). The lambing interval varied, from 198 to 202 d. Lamb’s birth weights in three treated groups were ranging from 1.2 to 1.39 kg. The designated sequences of BMP1R gene revealed 100% homology with the sequence of Kazakh sheep. The present study indicated that the influence of nutrition on reproductive performance and genomic study will be helpful for the genetic improvement of low-productive sheep.