Cryopreservation of Fish Sperm

Abstract

This chapter provides detailed descriptions of the protocol used for fish sperm cryopreservation. The principles described can be applied to any species, but details are also given for individual fish species. Successful cryopreservation of fish spermatozoa depends on a range of factors including the collection of high quality sperm, equilibration conditions, choice of cryoprotectant medium, cooling/thawing regimes, and conditions for fertilization. Even though some general rules can be applied to any fish species, optimization of the protocol is needed for each individual species. Furthermore, because sperm derived from marine and freshwater fish differs markedly, the described protocol is mainly focused on the cryopreservation of sperm for freshwater fish because this poses the greater technical challenge.

Cryopreservation of Brown Trout (Salmo trutta macrostigma) and Ornamental Koi Carp (Cyprinus carpio) Sperm

“…Even though some general rules can be applied to any fish species, optimization of the protocol is needed for each individual species (Kopeika et al 2007). Several factors have affected post-thaw quality of cryopreserved sperm from both brown trout (Salmo trutta macrostigma) and ornamental koi carp (Cyprinus carpio).…”

Sperm Cryopreservation of Some Freshwater Fish Species in Malaysia

“…Successful cryopreservation of fish sperm very much depends on a range of factors in each step of the cryopreservation procedures as highlighted by Kopeika et al (2007).…”

“…According to Kopeika et al (2007), several methods of fish sperm storage has been practised including stored in medium with saturated gases, preservation at temperature above zero, in a frozen state as well as by drying. However, the low temperature approaches have been successful in fish sperm cryopreservation.…”

“…This is due to the fact that cryopreservation of sperms from different fish species required different conditions, where the protocol needs to be established individually. Even the "general protocol" of cryopreservation of fish sperm summarized by Kopeika et al (2007) encompassed many variations when different species of fish are involved, particularly in the use of medium ingredients for the cryopreservation.…”

Cryopreserved sperm for oocyte fertilization of dourado Salminus brasiliensis

“…According to TIERSCH (2000), approximately 40-90% of fresh water fish sperm is damaged by the cryopreservation process. Because of the loss of quality in cryopreserved gametes, it becomes even more important to define the ideal relationship between the gametes (KOPEIKA et al, 2007). Based on this fact, it was expect that a greater volume of the semen would be necessary for obtaining a high fertilization rate, but this prediction was not observed for dourado.…”