title: The use of buck and ram extenders and two packaging systems to cryopreserve aoudad (Ammotragus lervia) spermatozoa.
abstract: Because the aoudad has been hunted to near extinction, cryopreservation of their semen would be useful for DNA conservation and for the possible re-establishment of captive bred animals to their former ranges. This study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of cryopreserving aoudad spermatozoa. Semen samples from four post-pubertal animals were collected using electro-ejaculation. Microscopic analysis was performed to assess the percentages of progressively and non-progressively motile spermatozoa as well as intact acrosomes in samples prior to freezing and post-thaw. Extended samples (0.2 mL) were frozen using 2 different extenders and packaging systems and stored in LN2 Post-thaw data were arcsine-transformed and analyzed using ANOVA, 2 x 2 factorial. Samples that were processed using the ram/straw method had a significantly higher percentage (P < 0.05) of spermatozoa with intact acrosomes than did any other system. In addition, samples that were processed with the buck/pellet system had significantly greater percentages (P < 0.05) of progressive and non-progressively motile spermatozoa than the samples processed using either extender and packaged in straws. This study illustrates that some aoudad spermatozoa may be cryopreserved using the extender/processing systems developed for the domestic buck and ram.
authors.affiliation: Division of Range Animal Science, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, TX 79832, USA.
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Crenshaw
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Mains
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Dart
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Perkins
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Purdy
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ericsson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002021:Buffers; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012662:Semen Preservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D012756:Sheep / Q000502:physiology*; D013081:Sperm Motility
chemical_list: D002021:Buffers