Correlation between ubiquitination and defects of bull spermatozoa and removal of defective spermatozoa using anti-ubiquitin antibody-coated magnetized beads

Abstract Ubiquitination is an important cellular process in spermatogenesis and involves the regulation of spermatid differentiation and spermiogenesis. In the current study, the correlation between bull sperm ubiquitination and sperm defects was analyzed, and the feasibility using anti-ubiquitin specific antibody immobilized magnetic beads to remove the spermatozoa with defects was assessed. A total of nine bulls were examined, and the amount of sperm ubiquitination ranged from 55 to 151. Correspondingly, the percentage of sperm deformity ranged from 9.3% to 28.1%. The coefficient of correlation was r  = 0.92, indicating a significant correlation between the percentage of sperm deformity and the amount of ubiquitination ( P r  = 0.86, P P P