Abstract
The epididymis is an organ that transports, matures and stores sperm, and has functions such as secretion and absorption. Polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) compositions in sperm membrane were changed during the process of epididymis maturation and influence the male fertility. This study aimed to investigate differences in crude fat and fatty acid content in cauda epididymis between high and low fertility of Hu sheep. One hundred and seventy-nine Hu ram lambs were fed from 56 days to 6 months under the same environment. After the feeding trial, all rams were slaughtered, and the body weight, testicular weight, epididymal weight and sperm density were measured. Pearson correlation analysis showed significantly moderate positive correlation between epididymal weight and sperm density and testicular weight. Eighteen rams were selected and divided into the high fertility group (H, n = 9) and low fertility group (L, n = 9) according to the epididymal weight, sperm density and histomorphology. The crude fat content, fatty acid profile and genes related to fatty acid metabolism were detected. The crude fat content, total fatty acid, total n-3 PUFA and docosahexaenoic acid (C22:6n-3, DHA) content of cauda epididymis in high fertility group was significantly higher than those in low fertility group (p < 0.05). However, the ratio of n-6/n-3 PUFA was significantly lower than that in group L (p < 0.05). Immunohistochemistry results showed that SREBP1 and ELOVL2 were expressed in pseudostratified columnar ciliated epithelium and smooth muscle cells. The mRNA expression of SREBP1 (p = 0.09) and ELOVL2 (p < 0.05) in the high fertility group were increased. In conclusion, the high expression of SREBP1 and ELOVL2 may contribute to high n-3 PUFA content in cauda epididymis of high-fertility Hu sheep.