A comparison of the protective action of added egg yolks from five avian species to the cryopreservation of bull sperm.
Cryopreservation of domestic animal sperm has been widely used for artificial insemination (AI), and egg yolk is one of the most commonly used cryoprotectants during the freezing-thawing process. The objectives of this study were to compare the effectiveness of egg yolk from five avian species (domestic chicken, domestic duck, domestic goose, Japanese quail or domestic pigeon) and to optimize the concentration of egg yolk on the cryopreservation of bull sperm in terms of frozen-thawed sperm progressive motility and viability. The results were two-fold. First, they showed that pigeon egg yolk provided the best cryoprotective effects on the cryopreservation of bull sperm, compared with egg yolk of chicken, quail, goose or duck. Second, the best concentration of pigeon egg yolk in extender was 20% during cryopreservation among five concentrations of 5, 10, 20, 30 or 40%. The results suggest that pigeon egg yolk could be used as an alternative to chicken egg yolk in extender but requires further testing in fertility trials.
Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Science, Kunming, Yunnan 650223 PR China. suleil@hotmail.com
Lei
L
Su
Xilong
X
Li
Jiexia
J
Quan
Shihua
S
Yang
Yahui
Y
Li
Xiechao
X
He
Xianghui
X
Tang
D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D004530:Egg Yolk; D008297:Male; D011200:Poultry; D012662:Semen Preservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D013077:Sperm Head / Q000187:drug effects; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000187:drug effects; D013094:Spermatozoa
D003451:Cryoprotective Agents