The effect of some cryoprotectants on dromedary camel frozen‐thawed semen

Abstract

The cryopreserved camel semen is often associated with poor quality and fertility. This study aimed to improve the dromedary frozen semen quality by comparing the efficiency of four cryoprotectant agents (CPAs) on sperm freezability. Semen samples were collected from seven male Maghrabi camels, diluted with Shotor diluent supplemented with glycerol (Sh-G), dimethyl formamide (DMF, Sh-DF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO, Sh-DS) or ethylene glycol (EG, Sh-EG), all at 6% final concentration, and the samples were subjected to cryopreservation. The results revealed the superiority of Sh-DF over Sh-G and Sh-DS in terms of post-thaw motility (55.83 ± 2.20 vs. 47.50 ± 4.33 and 45.00 ± 2.89%, respectively), sperm membrane (49.00 ± 0.58, 39.33 ± 3.33 and 42.67 ± 1.45%, respectively) and acrosomal integrities (53.00 ± 0.58, 57.33 ± 0.88 and 52.33 ± 1.45%, respectively). Sh-EG group showed the lowest post-thaw motility, plasma membrane and acrosome integrities (12.50 ± 1.44, 22.67 ± 1.45 and 30.67 ± 1.45, respectively). In conclusion, the protocols of dromedary camel semen cryopreservation could be enhanced using 6% DMF as a cryoprotectant agent.

Mating behaviour and semen parameters in dromedary camel bulls (Camelus dromedarius): a comparison between two types of artificial vagina

“…Although different AV types or modifications are currently in use, no exhaustive research into the most suitable one has been performed. For instance, El-Badry et al (2017) and Ziapour et al (2014) used a 30 cm long AV with a 5 cm inner diameter and a foam cervix imitation (according to indications by Bravo et al, 2000), whereas El-Bahrawy, in 2010, used the same kind of AV without the cervix imitation. Since it is believed that sperm motility could be affected by contact with the AV rubber or with the AV collection funnel, all the above authors applied a plastic liner inside the AV cylinder (El-Badry et al, 2017;El-Bahrawy, 2010;Ziapour et al, 2014).…”

“…For instance, El-Badry et al (2017) and Ziapour et al (2014) used a 30 cm long AV with a 5 cm inner diameter and a foam cervix imitation (according to indications by Bravo et al, 2000), whereas El-Bahrawy, in 2010, used the same kind of AV without the cervix imitation. Since it is believed that sperm motility could be affected by contact with the AV rubber or with the AV collection funnel, all the above authors applied a plastic liner inside the AV cylinder (El-Badry et al, 2017;El-Bahrawy, 2010;Ziapour et al, 2014). Skidmore et al (2013) reported that the disposable inner liner was not well accepted by the bulls, and Cholakkal et al, (2016) reported that the use thereof was unsuitable because the collected ejaculates 'stick' to the liner, were 'frothy' and of low volume.…”

Efficiency of Commercial Egg Yolk-Free and Egg Yolk-Supplemented Tris-Based Extenders for Dromedary Camel Semen Cryopreservation

“…They determine the efficiency of cryopreservation protocols and thus play a key role in semen protection [5]. Therefore, numerous efforts have been made to define the best semen extender in different animal species including Camelidae [6,7,8]. These efforts ended with the formulation of many commercial semen extenders for bovine and equine, while for camelids there are mainly two specific semen extenders SHOTOR and Green buffer.…”

“…These efforts ended with the formulation of many commercial semen extenders for bovine and equine, while for camelids there are mainly two specific semen extenders SHOTOR and Green buffer. SHOTOR has proven successful in the preservation of both chilled and frozen Bactrian camel semen [9,10] as well as dromedary camel semen [6]. Moreover, Green buffer has proven successful in the preservation of frozen dromedary camel semen [7].…”

“…The most common ingredients added to extenders when used for freezing semen of different species, including camelids are Tris buffer and egg yolk [6,10,13,14,15,16,17,18,19]. However, the use of egg yolk in extenders has been proven problematic for semen cryoprotection, leading to the search for potential animal-free substitutes [5].…”