title: L-carnitine is a survival factor for chilled storage of rooster semen for a long time.
abstract: Rooster sperm is sensitive to cooling, which restricts procedures to store sperms for extended periods of time for artificial insemination of commercial flocks. This study was conducted to evaluate the suitability of adding L-carnitine (LC) to chilled-storage of rooster sperm and its effects on sperm quality parameters and its fertility potential during storage at 5 °C. Pooled semen from roosters were divided into six equal aliquots and diluted with media supplemented with different concentrations of LC (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4 and 8 mM LC). Diluted semen samples were cooled to 5 °C and stored over 48 h. Motility, viability, membrane functionality, lipid peroxidation and mitochondria activity of the sperm were assessed at 0, 24 and 48 h of storage. Moreover, fertility potential of chilled stored sperm was considered at 24 h of storage. While sperm quality was not affected by LC at the beginning of storage (0 h), supplementation of extender with 1 and 2 mM of LC significantly improved the percentage of sperm motility, viability, membrane integrity and mitochondria activity at 24 h and 48 h compared to other groups. Lipid peroxidation was significantly reduced in sperm samples diluted with 1 and 2 mM LC at 24 h (2.15 ± 0.52 nmol/ml and 2.21 ± 0.52 nmol/ml) and 48 h (3.42 ± 0.49 nmol/ml and 3.38 ± 0.49 nmol/ml) compared to other groups. Furthermore, fertility rates during artificial insemination using sperms cooled for 24 h in the presence of 1 and 2 mM LC were significantly higher (78%) than in the control group (64%). These findings suggest that optimum doses of LC could protect rooster sperm against cool storage-induced functional and structural damages.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, Shahr-e-Qods Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: amir1356fattah@qodsiau.ac.ir.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fattah
authors.affiliation: Department of Poultry Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tarbiat Modares, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: m.sharafi@modares.ac.ir.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sharafi
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Masoudi
authors.affiliation: Department of Embryology, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shahverdi
authors.affiliation: Department of Embryology, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Esmaeili
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002331:Carnitine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002645:Chickens; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005298:Fertility; D007315:Insemination, Artificial / Q000662:veterinary*; D015227:Lipid Peroxidation / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism; D012661:Semen / Q000187:drug effects*; D012662:Semen Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D013081:Sperm Motility / Q000502:physiology*; D013094:Spermatozoa / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D002331:Carnitine
keywords: Cooling storage; Fertility; L-carnitine; Rooster; Sperm