Incorporation of [14C]amino acids into the proteins of bull spermatozoa

Abstract

In whole semen, the incorporation is exclusively into the spermatozoon protein., In suspensions of washed spermatozoa, incorporation continues for several hours but in whole semen incorporation stops after about 20 min. The incorporation reaction has been compared with that observed in reticulocytes incubated under similar conditions. The rate of incorporation into spermatozoon protein is about 1/20 of that into reticulocyte protein. Small numbers of bacteria were always present in semen but their presence did not account adequately for the observed incorporation. The rate of incorporation into both spermatozoa and reticulocytes was inversely related to the concentration of cells. The effect of various inhibitors was examined. It is concluded that the incorporation reaction in spermatozoa is unlikely to be a true measure of protein synthesis.