title: Effect of shortening the prefreezing equilibration time with glycerol on the quality of chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica), ibex (Capra pyrenaica), mouflon (Ovis musimon) and aoudad (Ammotragus lervia) ejaculates.
abstract: The present study reports the effect of shortening the prefreezing equilibration time with glycerol on the quality of frozen-thawed ejaculated sperm from four Mediterranean mountain ungulates: Cantabrian chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica), Iberian ibex (Capra pyrenaica), mouflon (Ovis musimon) and aoudad (Ammotragus lervia). Ejaculated sperm from these species were divided into two aliquots. One was diluted with either a Tris-citric acid-glucose based medium (TCG-glycerol; for chamois and ibex sperm) or a Tris-TES-glucose-based medium (TTG-glycerol; for mouflon and aoudad sperm), and maintained at 5°C for 3h prior to freezing. The other aliquot was diluted with either TCG (chamois and ibex sperm) or TTG (mouflon and aoudad sperm) and maintained at 5°C for 1h before adding glycerol (final concentration 5%). After a 15min equilibration period in the presence of glycerol, the samples were frozen. For the ibex, there was enhanced (P<0.05) sperm viability and acrosome integrity after the 3h as compared with the 15min equilibration time. For the chamois, subjective sperm motility and cell membrane functional integrity were less (P<0.05) following 15min of equilibration. In the mouflon, progressive sperm motility and acrosome integrity was less (P<0.05) when the equilibration time was reduced to 15min. For the aoudad, the majority of sperm variables measured were more desirable after the 3h equilibration time. The freezing-thawing processes reduced the sperm head size in all the species studied; however, the equilibration time further affected the frozen-thawed sperm head variables in a species-dependent fashion. While the equilibration time for chamois sperm might be shortened, this appears not to be the case for all ungulates.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, Madrid, Spain; Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Lago Sul-Brasília DF, Brazil.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pradiee
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: O'Brien
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Esteso
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castaño
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Toledano-Díaz
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lopez-Sebastián
authors.affiliation: DG Recursos Naturales, Consejería de Desarrollo Rural y Recursos Naturales, Principado de Asturias, Spain.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Marcos-Beltrán
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Vega
authors.affiliation: Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, Málaga, Spain.
authors.forename: F G
authors.initials: FG
authors.lastname: Guillamón
authors.affiliation: Zoo-Aquarium, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Martínez-Nevado
authors.affiliation: Zoológico de Córdoba, Ayuntamiento de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guerra
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Reproducción Animal, INIA, Madrid, Spain. Electronic address: moreno@inia.es.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Santiago-Moreno
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015925:Cryopreservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005990:Glycerol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D012662:Semen Preservation / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D012756:Sheep / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013081:Sperm Motility; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D005990:Glycerol
keywords: Cryopreservation; Glycerol; Spermatozoa; Wild ruminant