Motility and fertility of equine spermatozoa in a milk extender after 12 or 24 hours at 20 degrees C.
Abstract: The effects of extender and storage at 20 degrees C on equine spermatozoa were evaluated in two experiments using embryo recovery as the end point. In both experiments, inseminations were every other day, starting on Day 2 or 3 of estrus or after a 35-mm follicle was detected, with 250 x 10(6) progressively motile cells (based on initial evaluation). In Experiment 1, semen from two stallions was used to compare the motility and fertility of spermatozoa maintained in a) heated skim milk extender at 37 degrees C with insemination in <1 h; b) E-Z Mixin extender at 37 degrees C with insemination in <1 h; and c) E-Z Mixin extender at 37 degrees C with cooling to 20 degrees C and insemination after storage for 12 h at 20 degrees C. The percentage of motile spermatozoa was 34% after 12 h compared to 55% at 0 h (P 0.05). In Experiment 2, semen from three stallions was used to compare the motility and fertility of spermatozoa in a) E-Z Mixin extender at 37 degrees C with insemination in <1 h or b) E-Z Mixin extender at 37 degrees C with cooling to 20 degrees C and insemination after storage for 24 h at 20 degrees C. The percentage of motile spermatozoa was 17% after 24 h compared to 54% at 0 h (P 0.05) in the percentage of mares from which an embryo was recovered 6.0 d after ovulation (68 vs 62%) or among stallions. Thus, stallion semen extended in E-Z Mixin was held at 20 degrees C for 24 h without a marked decline in fertility.
Publication Date: 1987-03-01 PubMed ID: 16726256DOI: 10.1016/0093-691x(87)90239-1Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research article investigates how storage temperature and sperm extenders affect equine spermatozoa motility and fertility, using embryo recovery as a success measure in two separate experiments.
Understanding the Research Context
- The research aims to understand the impact of storage conditions (20 degrees C) for extended periods (12 or 24 hours) on the movement and fertility of horse sperm cells extended in two different solutions: heated skim milk and E-Z Mixin.
- The measure of success in this investigation is embryo recovery, indicating successful fertilization and early development.
- The research is broken down into two key experiments varying in procedure and duration.
Experiment 1
- This experiment involved two stallions and compared the effects of three treatments: a) semen maintained in heated skim milk extender and inseminated within 1 hour; b) semen preserved in E-Z Mixin extender and inseminated within 1 hour; c) semen stored in E-Z Mixin extender, cooled to 20 degrees C, and inseminated after being stored for 12 hours.
- The sperm motility decreased significantly from 55% at 0 hours to 34% after 12 hours of storage (P < 0.05), demonstrating that sperm cell movement is affected by these storage conditions.
- However, the percentage of successful embryo recoveries from mares varied insignificantly between the three treatments, suggesting that despite reduced motility, fertility was not significantly impacted.
Experiment 2
- Three stallions were involved in this experiment, which compared two treatments: a) spermatozoa in E-Z Mixin extender with insemination in less than an hour; b) spermatozoa in E-Z Mixin extender, cooled to 20 degrees C and inseminated after storage for 24 hours.
- The percentage of motile spermatozoa significantly dropped from 54% at 0 hours to 17% after 24 hours (P < 0.05), showing that longer storage periods further decrease motility.
- Yet, there was no significant difference in the percentage of successful embryo recoveries from mares between the two treatments, again suggesting that while motility decreases, fertility does not reduce significantly.
Conclusion
- The study concluded that storing stallion semen, extended in E-Z Mixin, at 20 degrees C for up to 24 hours does not substantially decrease fertility, despite a notable decline in sperm motility.
Cite This Article
APA
Francl AT, Amann RP, Squires EL, Pickett BW.
(1987).
Motility and fertility of equine spermatozoa in a milk extender after 12 or 24 hours at 20 degrees C.
Theriogenology, 27(3), 517-525.
https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-691x(87)90239-1 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Animal Reproduction Laboratory Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523 USA.
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Vaillancourt D, Guay P, Higgins R. The effectiveness of gentamicin or polymyxin B for the control of bacterial growth in equine semen stored at 20 degrees C or 5 degrees C for up to forty-eight hours. Can J Vet Res 1993 Oct;57(4):277-80.
- Heiskanen ML, Huhtinen M, Pirhonen A, Mäenpää PH. Insemination results with slow-cooled stallion semen stored for approximately 40 hours. Acta Vet Scand 1994;35(3):257-62.
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