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Animal reproduction2019; 16(2); 282-289; doi: 10.21451/1984-3143-AR2018-0133

Comparison of sperm selection techniques in donkeys: motile subpopulations from a practical point of view.

Abstract: The aim of this study was to compare the post-thaw distribution of motile sperm subpopulations, following simple or colloid centrifugation. A new analysis was used to evaluate the available number of sperm from each subpopulation after each centrifugation protocol. Frozen/thawed semen samples were divided into the following after-thawing treatments: uncentrifuged control (UDC), sperm washing (SW) and two colloid centrifugation procedures (Equipure, SLC-E, and Androcoll, SLC-A). Percentage of total and progressive motility (TM and PM), as well as sperm motility kinematics, distribution of motile sperm subpopulations, and recovery rates, were statistically compared among treatments. The SLC treatments showed higher (P < 0.001) TM and PM than UDC and SW. Following each SLC procedure, different percentages of the subpopulation with the most vigorous and progressive sperm (sP4) were obtained. SLC-A recovered a larger number of sperm belonging to sP4 than SLC-E, but not significantly higher than SW. From a practical point of view, sperm washing, the standard centrifugation procedure for equine semen processing, recovered the same amount of fast and progressive sperm as colloid centrifugation, apparently the best treatment according to traditional analysis. In conclusion, samples processed by SLC have higher motility percentages than SW and UDC but, after combining the available number of sperm, SLC and SW techniques are equally efficient in recovering sperm from the most vigorous, fast and progressive motile subpopulation (sP4).
Publication Date: 2019-10-23 PubMed ID: 33224288PubMed Central: PMC7673585DOI: 10.21451/1984-3143-AR2018-0133Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

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The research article is aimed at comparing various sperm selection techniques in donkeys with an emphasis on the efficiency of the methods in retrieving vigorously mobile sperm subpopulations.

Objective of the Study

  • The purpose of the research was to juxtapose different sperm selection techniques and the efficiency of these methods in obtaining motile and progressive sperm subpopulations.

Methodology

  • The study involved using thawed semen samples which underwent several after-thawing treatments including uncentrifuged control (UDC), sperm washing (SW), and two colloid centrifugation procedures (Equipure, SLC-E and Androcoll, SLC-A).
  • Sperm variables such as total and progressive motility (TM and PM), as well as sperm motility kinematics, distribution of motile sperm subpopulations, and recovery rates were statistically compared among the methods.

Results

  • The research revealed that semen samples processed through SLC treatments showed higher amounts of total and progressive motility than those used in UDC and SW treatments.
  • Different rates of the most vigorously moving and progressive sperm (sP4) were obtained after each SLC procedure.
  • Androcoll (SLC-A) produced a larger number of sperm from the sP4 subpopulation than Equipure (SLC-E) but not significantly more than the SW process.

Conclusion

  • Even though samples processed by SLC revealed higher percentage of sperm motility than those processed by SW and UDC, when considering the available number of sperm, both SLC and SW procedures were equally competent in recovering vigorously mobile and progressive sperm (sP4).
  • The research concluded that though colloid centrifugation appeared as the most effective treatment according to traditional analysis, sperm washing, a standard centrifugation procedure for equine semen processing, retrieves an equal amount of fast and progressively motile sperm.

Cite This Article

APA
Ortiz I, Dorado J, Morrell JM, Diaz-Jimenez MA, Pereira B, Consuegra C, Hidalgo M. (2019). Comparison of sperm selection techniques in donkeys: motile subpopulations from a practical point of view. Anim Reprod, 16(2), 282-289. https://doi.org/10.21451/1984-3143-AR2018-0133

Publication

ISSN: 1984-3143
NlmUniqueID: 101272804
Country: Brazil
Language: English
Volume: 16
Issue: 2
Pages: 282-289

Researcher Affiliations

Ortiz, Isabel
  • Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.
Dorado, Jesús
  • Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.
Morrell, Jane M
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Division of Reproduction, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
Diaz-Jimenez, Maria Angeles
  • Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.
Pereira, Blasa
  • Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.
Consuegra, César
  • Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.
Hidalgo, Manuel
  • Veterinary Reproduction Group, Department of Medicine and Animal Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain.

Conflict of Interest Statement

Conflict of interest
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest regarding the publication of this article.

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
  1. Gacem S, Valverde A, Catalán J, Yánez Ortiz I, Soler C, Miró J. A New Approach of Sperm Motility Subpopulation Structure in Donkey and Horse.. Front Vet Sci 2021;8:651477.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.651477pubmed: 34113670google scholar: lookup
  2. Guillén Palomino CY, Fumuso FG, Bertuzzi ML, Giuliano SM, Velásquez González N, Bariani MV, Carretero MI. Use of Androcoll-E(TM) to Separate Frozen-Thawed Llama Sperm From Seminal Plasma and Diluent.. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:594926.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2020.594926pubmed: 33585592google scholar: lookup