Successful pregnancy using stallion semen stored at 17ºC for 6 days

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the effect of a short, cooled storage before cryopreservation on sperm progressive motility (PM) and compare the effect of different centrifugation methods on post-thaw PM of stored samples. Semen was diluted in Gent® and aliquoted in 6 protocols: i) Standard centrifugation (SC) followed by freezing; ii) Single Layer Centrifugation (SLC) followed by freezing; iii) Storage for 8h/5°C before SC; iv) Storage for 8h/5°C before SLC; v) Storage for 8h/15°C before SC; and vi) Storage for 8h/15°C before SLC. PM was assessed before centrifugation, after centrifugation, and post-thawing. Stallions were classified as “good freezers” (GF) or “bad freezers” (BF). The PM in samples immediately frozen was significantly greater than in the stored ones (71.98 ± 14.2, 52.91 ± 17.8, 53.93 ± 18.9 for no storage, 5ºC storage and 15ºC storage, respectively) (P˂ 0.0001). There was an effect of storage condition (P ˂ 0.0001), centrifugation method (P˂ 0.0001), and freezability (P=0.0016), with an interaction between them (P= 0.0004), on PM after centrifugation. Post-thaw PM was greater in samples treated by SLC than in samples processed by SC, for all storage conditions (P ˂ 0.05). All BF stallions ‘showed post-thaw PM ˂ 30% when samples were previously stored. Storage at 5ºC or 15ºC for 8 h maintains an appropriate quality in GF stallions. Applying a sperm selection technique as SLC is suggested to improve post-thaw motility, allowing GF straws to be frozen after storage, although BF semen should be prepared by SLC immediately after collection.