The effect of pH on the motility of spermatozoa from chicken, turkey and quail

At 40°C in a NaCl-based buffer the motility of spermatoza from chicken, turkey and quail was inhibited at pH values below 7.8, 7.2 and 7.2, respectively. At these pH values the percentage motile and velocity of spermatoza were relatively low, but the motility became vigorous when the pH was raised by 0.2 units and increased even more following further alkalinization. Spermatozoa from all three species stored motionless at pH 6.0 for 3 h could be reactivated by dilution in an alkaline solution (pH 9.0). These findings support the hypothesis that a change in the environmental pH could be implicated in the suppression and stimulation of sperm motility during oviducal sperm storage and transport.