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ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF Veterinary Andrology & Assisted Reproductive Techniques: practice questions

ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) · India · NTA for ICAR

Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papers
10worked here, free
26written to this exam in this subject
12syllabus units

What this subject covers

Male reproduction and fertility, semen collection, evaluation and freezing, artificial insemination, embryo transfer, IVF, cloning and sexed semen, and reproduction in the non-bovine species.

In the exams: ICAR AICE-JRF core group 07; ICAR AIEEA-PG 13 (ARGO); RPSC (ETT, IVF, cloning)

What ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF asks from it

ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF (PhD) — core group 07, ARGO

Mechanism-level questions: two-factor freezing injury, capacitation, sperm defects and their origin, flow-cytometric sexing, SCNT and epigenetic reprogramming, OPU-IVP steps and their limitations.

Where the 26 questions fall

How our questions for ICAR AICE-JRF/SRF spread across the units of Veterinary Andrology & Assisted Reproductive Techniques. Difficulty: 0 easy, 14 medium, 12 hard.

Semen evaluation4
Ovum pick-up and in-vitro fertilisation4
Male reproductive physiology3
Frozen-semen technology3
Cloning3
Multiple ovulation and embryo transfer2
Sexed semen2
Breeding soundness examination1
Semen collection1
Male infertility1
Artificial insemination1
Reproduction in small ruminants and swine1

10 practice questions, worked

Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.

1 · Semen collection · hard

Which combination of typical ejaculate volume and sperm concentration describes the ram?

  1. About 5 mL at roughly 1 × 10⁹ sperm per mL
  2. About 250 mL at roughly 0.2–0.3 × 10⁹ sperm per mL
  3. About 1 mL at roughly 2–5 × 10⁹ sperm per mL
  4. About 60 mL at roughly 0.1–0.2 × 10⁹ sperm per mL
Answer and working

C. About 1 mL at roughly 2–5 × 10⁹ sperm per mL

Ram (and buck) semen is small and very concentrated, about 1 mL at several billion per mL. Around 5 mL at about a billion per mL is the bull; a large-volume, dilute ejaculate of a few hundred mL is the boar; tens of mL at 100–200 million per mL is the stallion. Values vary by individual, season and collection frequency.

Further reading: Hafez & Hafez, Reproduction in Farm Animals; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition

2 · Semen evaluation · hard

Stallion semen is diluted 1:100 and all 25 medium squares of the central 1 mm² area of an improved Neubauer chamber (depth 0.1 mm) are counted, giving 150 sperm. What is the sperm concentration of the raw semen?

  1. 7.5 × 10⁸ per mL
  2. 1.5 × 10⁷ per mL
  3. 1.5 × 10⁹ per mL
  4. 1.5 × 10⁸ per mL
Answer and working

D. 1.5 × 10⁸ per mL

All 25 squares cover 1 mm² × 0.1 mm = 0.1 µL, so no ×5 is needed. 150 × 10 (to 1 µL) × 1,000 (to 1 mL) × 100 = 1.5 × 10⁸ per mL. Multiplying by 5 as if only five squares had been counted gives 7.5 × 10⁸; dropping the ×10 depth factor gives 1.5 × 10⁷; using a 1:1,000 dilution by mistake gives 1.5 × 10⁹.

Further reading: Hafez & Hafez, Reproduction in Farm Animals; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition

3 · Semen evaluation · hard

Under Blom's classification, which pairing of defect and category is correct?

  1. Knobbed acrosome is a minor defect; distal droplet is major
  2. Knobbed acrosome is a major defect; distal droplet is minor
  3. Proximal droplet is a minor defect; Dag defect is major
  4. Distal droplet and proximal droplet are both major defects
Answer and working

B. Knobbed acrosome is a major defect; distal droplet is minor

Blom grouped defects by their presumed effect on fertility: knobbed acrosome, proximal cytoplasmic droplet, diadem defect and the Dag midpiece defect are major; distal droplets and simple bent tails are minor. Calling the proximal droplet minor or the distal droplet major reverses Blom's grouping.

Further reading: Hafez & Hafez, Reproduction in Farm Animals; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition

4 · Semen evaluation · hard

The sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) evaluates:

  1. Acrosome integrity by binding of fluorescent plant lectins on a microscope slide
  2. Plasma-membrane integrity by exclusion of eosin under bright-field microscopy
  3. Susceptibility of sperm DNA to denaturation, using acridine orange and flow cytometry
  4. Mitochondrial membrane potential using a cationic dye in the sperm midpiece
Answer and working

C. Susceptibility of sperm DNA to denaturation, using acridine orange and flow cytometry

SCSA exposes sperm to acid and stains with acridine orange, which fluoresces green on intact double-stranded DNA and red on denatured single-stranded DNA; a flow cytometer reads the DNA fragmentation index. The other three tests measure acrosome, membrane and mitochondrial function respectively.

Further reading: Hafez & Hafez, Reproduction in Farm Animals; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition

5 · Multiple ovulation and embryo transfer · medium

In the IETS embryo coding system, stage code 6 denotes a:

  1. Blastocyst
  2. Compact morula
  3. Hatched blastocyst
  4. 2- to 12-cell embryo
Answer and working

A. Blastocyst

IETS stage codes: 1 unfertilised oocyte, 2 two- to twelve-cell, 3 early morula, 4 morula, 5 early blastocyst, 6 blastocyst, 7 expanded blastocyst, 8 hatched blastocyst, 9 expanding hatched blastocyst. The morula is code 4 and the hatched blastocyst code 8.

Further reading: Manual of the International Embryo Technology Society

6 · Ovum pick-up and in-vitro fertilisation · medium

Heparin is added to bovine IVF medium mainly to:

  1. Prevent clotting of follicular fluid in the dish
  2. Stop polyspermy by hardening the zona
  3. Supply energy to the matured oocytes
  4. Induce capacitation of the bull sperm
Answer and working

D. Induce capacitation of the bull sperm

Heparin, a glycosaminoglycan similar to those in oviductal fluid, binds sperm and triggers capacitation, allowing bovine sperm to fertilise in vitro. Its anticoagulant effect is used in the aspiration medium, not for this purpose. It does not harden the zona or act as an energy source.

Further reading: Hafez & Hafez, Reproduction in Farm Animals; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition

7 · Cloning · medium

Donor cells for nuclear transfer are often serum-starved before use, mainly to:

  1. Remove their mitochondria before fusion
  2. Increase their telomere length for cloning
  3. Bring them into G0/G1 so cell cycles match
  4. Make their nuclei haploid like a sperm
Answer and working

C. Bring them into G0/G1 so cell cycles match

Serum starvation (or contact inhibition) arrests cells in G0/G1, so their diploid DNA is compatible with the metaphase II cytoplast and nuclear reprogramming is favoured; this was a key step in producing Dolly. It does not remove mitochondria, lengthen telomeres or make cells haploid.

Further reading: Hafez & Hafez, Reproduction in Farm Animals; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition

8 · Cloning · hard

A clone produced by somatic cell nuclear transfer is not genetically 100% identical to its nuclear donor mainly because:

  1. Its nuclear DNA is half from the oocyte and half from the donor
  2. Its mitochondrial DNA comes mainly from the recipient oocyte
  3. Its Y chromosome is lost during the electrical fusion step
  4. Its nuclear genome is reshuffled by meiosis in the oocyte
Answer and working

B. Its mitochondrial DNA comes mainly from the recipient oocyte

The nuclear genome comes entirely from the donor cell, but mitochondria and their DNA come mostly from the enucleated oocyte, so clones may differ in mitochondrial DNA (and in epigenetics and environment). No meiosis, gamete fusion or chromosome loss is part of the process.

Further reading: Hafez & Hafez, Reproduction in Farm Animals; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition

9 · Sexed semen · medium

Bovine embryos can be sexed before transfer by:

  1. Measuring the diameter of the expanded blastocyst
  2. Counting the cells of the morula under the microscope
  3. Biopsy of a few cells and PCR for Y-specific DNA
  4. Staining the zona pellucida with Hoechst 33342
Answer and working

C. Biopsy of a few cells and PCR for Y-specific DNA

A few trophectoderm cells are removed and amplified by PCR for Y-chromosome sequences; the embryo is then transferred or frozen. Embryo size, cell number and zona staining do not reveal sex reliably.

Further reading: Hafez & Hafez, Reproduction in Farm Animals; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition

10 · Reproduction in small ruminants and swine · hard

Norway is notable in small-ruminant AI because:

  1. Vaginal insemination with frozen ram semen gives acceptable fertility in its breeds
  2. All its ewes are inseminated by laparoscopy at a fixed time after progestagen
  3. It bans the use of frozen ram semen and uses only natural mating
  4. It uses electroejaculation exclusively, without artificial vaginas
Answer and working

A. Vaginal insemination with frozen ram semen gives acceptable fertility in its breeds

In local Norwegian breeds, simple vaginal (or shallow cervical) insemination with frozen-thawed ram semen achieves acceptable lambing rates, which is unusual; elsewhere frozen semen generally needs laparoscopic intrauterine deposition. The other statements are not the reason Norway is cited.

Further reading: Hafez & Hafez, Reproduction in Farm Animals; Senger, Pathways to Pregnancy and Parturition

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Veterinary Andrology & Assisted Reproductive TechniquesThe full study manual, free ICAR AICE-JRF/SRFFormat, sections and how it has changed

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Veterinary Andrology & Assisted Reproductive Techniques for other exams

ENADE · BrazilNational Veterinary Examination · JapanAustralasian Veterinary Examination, formerly the National Veterinary Examination · Australia / New ZealandNAVLE · USA / CanadaRCVS Statutory Membership Examination · UKSAVC Registration Examination · South Africa

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