title: Successful laparoscopic insemination with a very low number of flow cytometrically sorted boar sperm in field conditions.
abstract: The aim of this study was to develop a useful procedure for laparoscopic insemination (LI) with sex-sorted boar spermatozoa that yields adequate fertility results in farm conditions. In experiment 1, we evaluated the effects of single (oviducts) and double (oviducts and tips of the uterine horns) LI with X-sorted sperm on the reproductive performance of sows. Sows (N = 109) were inseminated once as follows: (1) single LI with 0.5 × 10(6) unsorted sperm per oviduct; (2) single LI with 0.5 × 10(6) sex-sorted sperm per oviduct; or (3) double LI with 0.5 × 10(6) sex-sorted sperm per oviduct and 0.5 × 10(6) sex-sorted sperm per uterine horn. The farrowing rates were lower (P < 0.05) in sows inseminated with sex-sorted sperm (43.2% and 61.9% for the single and double insemination groups, respectively) than in sows from the unsorted group (91.3%). Within the sex-sorted groups, the farrowing rate tended (P = 0.09) to be greater in sows inseminated using double LI. There were no differences in the litter size among groups. In experiment 2, we evaluated the effect of the number of sex-sorted sperm on the reproductive performance of sows when using double LI. Sows (N = 109) were inseminated with sex-sorted sperm once using double LI with: (1) 0.5 × 10(6) sperm per oviduct and 1 × 10(6) sperm per uterine horn; or (2) 1 × 10(6) sperm per oviduct and 2 × 10(6) sperm per uterine horn. Similarly high pregnancy (90%) and farrowing (80%) rates were achieved in both groups. The sows inseminated with the highest number of sperm tended (P = 0.09) to have more piglets (10.8 ± 0.7 vs. 9.2 ± 0.6). A high female proportion (number of female births divided by the total of all births ≥0.92) was obtained in both experiments using X-sorted sperm. Our results indicate that the double LI procedure, using between 3 and 6 × 10(6) sex-sorted sperm per sow produces adequate fertility at the farm level, making sperm-sexing technology potentially applicable in elite breeding units.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: del Olmo
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Parrilla
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jonatan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Osorio
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jesus
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gomis
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Angel
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tarantini
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Maria A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cuello
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Roca
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Vaquez
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Regional Campus of International Excellence, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain. Electronic address: emilio@um.es.
authors.forename: Emilio A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Martinez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding / Q000379:methods; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000662:veterinary; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D012743:Sex Preselection / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000166:cytology*; D013552:Swine / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Boar spermatozoa; Farrowing rate; Litter size; Pregnancy rate; Sex-sorting