Preservation of boar semen: An update

Abstract

Contents In the pork industry, artificial insemination and the storage of boar semen in liquid at 17°C are routinely applied to optimize the ejaculate and bring about rapid genetic changes that are reflected in the animal protein. Although the results are satisfactory, they are below what occurs with natural mating. It is currently possible to preserve boar semen with storage at 17°C and slow freezing, since to date there is only one study on vitrification, with negative results applicable only in the case of implementing an intracytoplasmic sperm injection. In both methods and due to the sensitivity of boar sperm to osmotic and temperature changes, there is a loss in the quality of the initial sample; however, slow freezing in boar semen has greater deleterious effects on the sample that are reflected in the pregnancy rates and number of live births. Therefore, only 1% of all inseminations are done with frozen semen. The aim of this review is to provide advances and results of studies conducted on the preservation of boar semen, delving more deeply into the critical points that each of the preservation techniques presents, including bacterial contamination, extender components, temperature, ice nucleation, use of additives in extenders and the main deleterious effects on sperm quality.

Quercetin and Naringenin Provide Functional and Antioxidant Protection to Stored Boar Semen

“…Numerous reports have claimed that boar spermatozoa subjected to in vitro storage may suffer from morphological alterations to the head and/or tail, which are associated with alterations to the plasma membrane. At the same time, exposure of male gametes in the ex vivo environment and elevated oxygen tension may result in mitochondrial dysfunction, loss of ATP synthesis, and motility inhibition [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. In the meantime, it must be remembered that maintenance of satisfactory sperm motility is a prime prerequisite for a successful AI and subsequent pregnancy in swine breeding programs [ 27 ].…”

Protective influence of rosiglitazone against time‐dependent deterioration of boar spermatozoa preserved at 17°C

“…Boar sperms are known to be particularly sensitive to their environment. Therefore, a major challenge for the pig artificial insemination industry is to maintain the quality of sperm in appropriate extenders enriched with effective protective supplements (Pezo, Romero, Zambrano, & Sánchez, ). BTS, a widely used semen extender throughout the word, is characterized by containing a low concentration of potassium, which plays a role in maintaining the intracellular concentration of potassium ion at physiological levels, which is related to improving sperm motility (Dubé, Beaulieu, Reyes‐Moreno, Guillemette, & Bailey, ).…”

Proline Protects Boar Sperm against Oxidative Stress through Proline Dehydrogenase-Mediated Metabolism and the Amine Structure of Pyrrolidine

“…Artificial insemination is widely used in pig industry for improving the fertility and spreading genetic progress [ 1 , 2 ]. In the farm and boar station, the semen is diluted and stored at 17 °C in vitro [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. However, the sperm fertility decreases with the extension of preservation [ 6 , 7 ].…”