Bulls Fertility Improved
UNIVERSITY PARK (Cen
tre) —A 5 percent improvement in
fertility for bulls used for artificial
insemination could save millions
of dollars for the nation’s dairy
fanners, a Penn State reproductive
physiologist says.
‘The average fertility of bulls
used for artificial insemination is
about 65 percent nationally, based
on non-retum rate information
from commercial bull studs,” says
Dr. Gary Killian, associate profes
sor of animal science. “A 5 per
cent improvement in fertility
would have a significant impact
In Pennsylvania alone, there are
between 700,000 and 800,000
dairy cows.”
Thirty-five percent of the total
state herd may be infertile at any
given time. These cows, which are
neither producing milk nor off
spring, must still be fed, although
they are not providing farmers
with a return on the investment of
feed.
Killian is involved in basic re
■ Three-term District Attorney from Scranton, Lackawanna County.
■ Nationally renowned prosecutor with 19 murder convictions
(5 death penalties) and 20 drug pusher convictions.
■ U.S. Marine Corps Captain, Vietnam combat veteran.
■ Supported by Farmers For Preate:
Rich Pall man. Chairman, Representative Art Hershey, E. Harry Hopkins,
Warren Thompson, Jack Shafer. Bruce Pallman, Brian Pallman, Ed Nehrig,
Guy Donaldson, Dan Naylor. Karl Kroeck, Marlyn Shaffer, Fred D. Eckel,
Harold Ely. Richard Smith, Clifford Sands, George Sheypuk,
Douglas Johnson, Dr. Colin Johnstone
search on the function of sperm
and the sperm membrane in ani
mals. specifically bulls and rab
bits. His results could lead to im
proved male fertility and ultimate
ly the development of a male
contraceptive for animals, he says.
He began his research at Kent
State University, where he teamed
with Dr. Ed Gelerinter, professor
of physics. The two use electron
spin resonance spectroscopy to
study biophysical changes in the
sperm because of environmental
factors.
They struggled with ESR tech
nique for five years before dis
covering, by accident, Killian
says, that they were able to mea
sure electron flow through the
mitochondria in the sperm cell.
This meant that they could mea
sure the rate of metabolism for the
whole cell. (Mitochondria are the
tiny, rodlike structures found in
the cytoplasm of most cells.)
“The ESR technique allows us
to see the biophysical changes in a
Ernie with his twin daughters Alexandra and Elizabeth, age 17.
“A prosecutor for a prosecutor’s job.”
Paid For By Ernie Preate For Attorney General Committee. Robert A. Gleason, Jr., Treasurer.
cell, but it takes a tremendous
amount of work to verify the inter
pretation of an observation. It can
be very frustrating,” Killian says.
He and Gelerinter are the only
two researchers in the world using
ESR to measure sperm mitochon
drial flow. Their novel technique
measures metabolic rate precisely
and with a sensitivity from 100 to
1,000 times greater than other
methods. They have been able to
duplicate their results, demonstra
ting the soundness of their tech
nique.
Their research is funded by the
National Institutes of Health. Kil
lian also recently received an
$87,144 grant from the Public
Health Service of the U.S. Depart
ment of Health and Human Ser
vices. He also is co-investigator
for an NIH-funded project that
will involve the purchase of a mo
dem ESR for Penn State.
“We don’t understand how
sperm are primed for fertilization,
but we believe the environment
they are exposed to play a key role
in the process. With ESR, we
for attorney General
Lancaster Farming Saturday, November 5,1988-D23
found that sperm were responding
to their environment by changing
the matabolic rate. We don’t yet
know what the trigger or stimulus
is, but we have found two differ
ent types of stimuli that act at the
sperm membrane, causing certain
reactions within the cell,” Killian
says.
Lectin, a substance that binds to
specific complex sugars on the
surface of the sperm membrane,
creates a specific change in meta
bolic rate. So do monoclonal anti
bodies, whihc are targeted against
specific proteins and cause speci
fic responses, he adds.
‘The signal (from Lectin or
Get MOOOvIn'
with 0
Dairy Foods!
LIQUID MANURE HAULING
Installations - Service
On All Kinds Of Wet
Lines On All Kinds
Of
DUMP TRUCKS
(Free Estimates)
BEILER HYDRAULICS
101 Amlshtown Road
New Holland, PA 17557
717-354-6066
nonoclonal antibodies) is transfer
red from the cell surface (mem
brane) to the interior of die cell
where the mitochondria are lo
cated. This process is called signal
transduction, and regardless of
where the stimuli react, the signal
is conveyed to the interior of the
cell.
“If we can discover how to
block signal transduction how
to 1 turn spam on and off we
could eventually create a male
contraceptive, or, perhaps,
improve the fertility of a subfertile
bull. Abnormal fertility may be re
lated to faulty signal transduc
tion,” he says.
EAR CORN
Paying Top Prices For
Good Quality Ear Corn
Wet or Dry
No Quantity too large
or too small
Fast Unloading*
Dump on Pile & Go
Easy access * 2.2
miles off 283 bypass-
Manheim, Mt. Joy
exit
Daily Receiving 7:30
A.M. to 5 P.M. - un
loading evenings &
Saturdays by appt.
Trucks available for
pick up at your farm.
Call Anytime For Price
717-665-4785
JAMES E. NOLL GRAIN