Effect of Sperm Concentration and Storage Temperature on Goat Spermatozoa during Liquid Storage

Abstract

Simple Summary

One of the problems with the refrigerated storage of spermatozoa in goats is the short shelf life. The study of the effect of the different storage conditions on the different sperm parameters could help to increase sperm survival. In this work, we studied the effect of temperature and sperm concentration during refrigerated storage on sperm motility, mitochondrial membrane potential and DNA fragmentation. We observed that refrigerated storage of semen doses reduced the majority of sperm quality parameters, however, sperm DNA fragmentation was not affected. Storage at 5 °C preserved higher sperm motility than at 17 °C. Moreover, the reduction of sperm concentration below 500 × 10 ⁶ sperm/mL did not seem to improve the quality of spermatozoa.

Abstract

The use of cooled semen is relatively common in goats. There are a number of advantages of cooled semen doses, including easier handling of artificial insemination (AI) doses, transport, more AI doses per ejaculate, and higher fertility rates in comparison with frozen AI doses. However, cooled semen has a short shelf life. The objective of this study was to examine the effect of temperature and sperm concentration on the in vitro sperm quality during liquid storage for 48 h, including sperm motility and kinetics, response to oxidation, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and DNA fragmentation in goats. Three experiments were performed. In the first, the effects of liquid preservation of semen at different temperatures (5 °C or 17 °C), durations (0, 24 and 48 h) and sperm concentrations (250 × 10 ⁶ sperm/mL (1:2 dilution rate), 166.7 × 10 ⁶ sperm/mL (1:3 dilution rate) or 50 × 10 ⁶ sperm/mL (1:10 dilution rate)) on sperm motility and kinetics were studied. In the second experiment, the effect of temperature, sperm washing and concentration on sperm motility and DNA fragmentation was studied. Finally, the effect of sperm concentration and duration of storage at 5 °C on sperm motility, response to oxidative stress and MMP was examined. We found that refrigerated liquid storage of goat sperm impaired sperm quality, such as motility, MMP and response to oxidation, as storage time increased; however, sperm DNA fragmentation index was not significantly affected. Liquid storage at 5 °C preserved higher total motility than at 17 °C. Moreover, we observed that the reduction of sperm concentration below 500 × 10 ⁶ sperm/mL did not seem to improve the quality of spermatozoa conserved in milk-based extender in the conditions tested.