In vitro fertilization with cryopreserved inbred mouse sperm.
Sperm from C57BL/6J, DBA/2J, BALB/cJ, 129S3/SvImJ, and FVB/NJ inbred mice were cryopreserved in 3% skim milk/18% raffinose cryoprotectant solution. The post-thaw sperm from all strains were evaluated for their viability and fertility by comparing them against B6D2F1 sperm used as a control. The protocol used for freezing mouse sperm was effective in different strains, because the motility was decreased by 50% after cryopreservation similar to other mammalian sperm. However, the progressive motility and the fertility of each inbred strain were affected differently. The C57BL/6J, BALB/cJ, and 129S3/SvImJ strains were the most affected; their fertility (two-cell cleavage) decreased from 70%, 34%, and 84% when using freshly collected sperm to 6%, 12%, and 6% when using frozen/thawed sperm, respectively. Live newborns derived from frozen/thawed sperm were obtained from all strains in the study. These results corroborate the genetic variation among strains with regard to fertility and susceptibility to cryopreservation.
Sztein
J M
JM
The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609, USA. jms@jax.org
Farley
J S
JS
Mobraaten
L E
LE
D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology; D015925:Cryopreservation; D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D010063:Ovum / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D012662:Semen Preservation; D013045:Species Specificity; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000502:physiology*