title: Preservation of mithun (Bos frontalis) semen at refrigeration temperature.
abstract: The objective of the present study was to investigate the possibility of preserving mithun (Bos frontalis) spermatozoa at refrigeration temperature using tris-egg yolk diluent. Semen samples were collected from four adult mithun bulls through rectal massage method. Good quality semen samples (n=30) were preserved at 4 degrees C using tris-egg yolk diluent for 72 h. Progressive motility, live spermatozoa count and morphological abnormalities were evaluated every 12 h until 72 h of preservation. The colour, consistency and mass activity of fresh semen samples were found to be creamy white, medium and 3+ to 4+ (5+ scale), respectively. The average (mean+/-S.E.) volume (ml), pH and spermatozoa concentration (10(6) ml(-1)) of fresh semen samples were found to be 0.6+/-0.01, 6.8+/-0.03 and 425+/-48, respectively. Progressive motility and live spermatozoa count were found to be less than 30% (P<0.01) after 48 h of storage. Head (P<0.05), midpiece (P<0.05), tail (P<0.01) and total (P<0.01) abnormalities were found to be increased significantly over the time of storage. It was observed that progressive motility and live spermatozoa count remained above 30% and 40%, respectively, until 36 h of storage. Simultaneously the percentage of morphologically abnormal spermatozoa was found to be significantly low until 36 h of storage. The results indicate that it is possible to preserve mithun spermatozoa at refrigeration temperature in tris-egg yolk diluent, which can be further used for artificial insemination within 36 h of storage.
authors.affiliation: National Research Centre on Mithun, Medziphema, Nagaland, India.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Karunakaran
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Dhali
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mech
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Khate
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rajkhowa
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Mishra
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D012034:Refrigeration / Q000662:veterinary*; D012418:Ruminants / Q000502:physiology*; D012661:Semen / Q000502:physiology*; D012662:Semen Preservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D013696:Temperature; D013997:Time Factors