Lactate Dehyrdrogenase Activity in High and Low Mobility Chicken Semen

We are analyzing relative Lactate Dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme activity in semen samples from roosters with high and low mobility sperm.  Sperm mobility is a significant determinant of male fertility in commercial chickens.  Our prior proteomic analyses had suggested that low mobility sperm contain reduced levels of glycolytic enzymes. LDH is a key enzyme in glycolysis and ATP production. Therefore we are developing a colorimetric assay to measure LDH activity in semen samples. LDH activity is measured relative to total protein and DNA.  We are using the assay to evaluate a collection of archived semen samples with known mobility from the high and low sperm mobility lines developed by Dr. Froman.