Individual Cryopreservation With Dimethyl Sulfoxide and Polyvinylpyrrolidone of Ejaculates and Pooled Semen of Three Avian Species

Abstract

Artificial insemination (AI) has been used for avian reproduction due to the discovery of cryoprotectants extending its usefulness both in production of domestic fowl and conservation of wild species. The goal of this study was to assess the effect on domestic and wild fowl pooled semen and individual ejaculate cryopreservation with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). Twenty ejaculates and twenty samples of pooled semen of roosters, pheasants and hawks were frozen in media containing DMSO or PVP. DMSO and PVP cryopreservation are equally effective both for ejaculates and pooled semen. Even PVP is a good alternative since no significant difference was found when compared to DMSO. The fertilizing capacity of fresh and cryopreserved pooled semen was analyzed through AI of hens and female pheasants. Similar fertility rates using DMSO, PVP or frozen-thawed samples demonstrated that reproduction is possible through the use of cryopreserved semen. In the case of female pheasants, the same values were obtained with both cryopreserved and fresh semen.

Evaluation of two diluents for the storage of fresh and cryopreserved semen of Harris hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus)

“…The motility in both diluents was also significantly lower post-thawing (P<0.05) than in the fresh condition. The results obtained in this study during the basic sperm evaluation demonstrated that the cryopreservation process affects sperm motility, resulting in a 50% decrease in both diluents; these data are consistent with reports by other authors (Herrera et al 2005, Froman 2013), who report that motility is the only parameter in the basic evaluation of sperm that is affected by the process of freezing bird sperm. The percentage of live sperm did not differ (P>0.05) between the BPSE and Lake diluents, and in fresh (98.0±0.2 and 96.0±1.0) and thawed (95.0±0.5 and 94.0±0.5) semen.…”

“…The sperm concentration was quantified using a Neubauer chamber (Herrera et al 2005, Ricart et al 2015. Moreover, sperms of a 10-µL-aliquots were stained with eosin-nigrosin (QCA, 996518, USA) and 100 spermatozoa from each sample were analysed using an optical microscope (OLYMPUS BX51) with a 100x objective to assess its viability and morphology (Blanco et al 2008Ricart et al 2015.…”

“…The Harris hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) is the most common in falconry worldwide. Different methods of seminal conservation that have been used for roosters and turkeys (Sexton 1977, Lake andRavie 1984) have been used to preserve the sperm of different raptors with varying results, and the outcomes of their fertilization ability have not been reported (Herrera et al 2005). Various seminal freezing protocols have also been implemented, regardless of the physiological differences between species, such as the alkaline and acidic urinary pH of roosters (pH 8.0) and raptors (pH 6.5;Umaphaty et al 2005).…”

Cryopreservation of Rooster Semen Using N-Methylacetamide as Cryoprotective Agent

“…The high vitellus content of megalecithal egg in avian species makes cryopreservation of oocyte and embryo difficult and the low efficacy of reconstitution and high cost associated with blastodermal or primordial germ cell preservation makes these approaches prohibitive [2]. Many freezing methods with slow and rapid freezing procedures, using variety of cryoprotective agents such as Glycerol, Dimethylacetamide (DMA), Dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), N-methylacetamide (MA), Sucrose, Trehalose and Polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and different types of sperm packaging methods (pellets in plastic/glass ampoules and French straws) have been explored to cryopreserve rooster sperm [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Gramapriya is a multi-coloured layer type chicken variety developed at ICAR-Directorate of Poultry Research, Hyderabad, for free range farming in rural and tribal areas and for rural backyard rearing.PD6 developed from multicoloured broiler population has been selected for shank length for six generations and is used as male line, and PD3 used for production of coloured germplasm for free range farming is used as female line to produce rural poultry cross "Gramapriya".…”

Optimization of Sperm Cryopreservation Protocol for Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus)

“…Still, previous studies suggest that the tolerance of avian sperm to changes in cryoprotectant concentrations can be highly species-specific. In several studies comparing different concentrations of DMSO, optimal results were achieved with 4.8% in turkeys [26]; 6% in ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus), chickens [27], and sandhill cranes [28]; 8% in Indian red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus murghi) [23]; and 10% in ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) [29] and kestrels [30]. Previous studies that examined the effect of extreme osmolarities determined that wild avian species had a higher resistance to hyperosmolar conditions when compared with domestic ones [27,30,31].…”