Abstract
Aim: Storage of testes-epididymides at refrigeration temperature is a promising method of short-term sperm preservation for use in reproductive biotechnology in dogs. This study aimed to determine the effect of storage time at 4°C on the quality of Nigerian local dogs’ cauda epididymal spermatozoa recovered post-castration. Materials and Methods: Testes along with their epididymides collected immediately after castration of local dogs were either processed immediately (0th hour) or stored at 4°C in the refrigerator for 12th, 24th or 48th hours and then processed. Each storage group comprised 5 pairs of testes-epididymides. Sperm motility, concentration, livability, acrosome integrity and morphology from the various storage groups were evaluated and means with standard error of the mean (±SEM) were recorded. Results: Mean percent sperm motility at 0th hour (77.0 ± 2.6) decreased significantly (p 0.05) was found when the mean sperm concentrations (×107/ml) of the storage groups (5.86 ± 47, 5.24 ± 26 and 5.38 ± 31) were compared with the control (6.48 ± 0.75). Mean percent sperm livability did not differ significantly (p > 0.05) between the 0th, 12th, 24th and 48th hour groups (86.4 ± 1.5, 78.0 ± 3.1 and 75.0 ± 1.8 respectively). However, there was a significant decrease (p 0.05) was detected in the mean percent acrosome integrity between the 0th, 12th, 24th and 48th hour groups (90.0 ± 1.5, 83.0 ± 3.5, 84.6 ± 4.6 and 82.2 ± 3.9 respectively). A significant increase (p < 0.05) in percent sperm morphological defect was detected after 48 hours of storage (37.6 ± 2.7) as compared to the 0th hour group (27.4 ± 2.0). Conclusion: The current study has shown that viable spermatozoa can be recovered after 48 hours of storage at 4°C of the cauda epididymides of Nigerian local dogs.
Highlights
Reproduction in dogs can be achieved naturally through mating or artificially through assisted reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination (AI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
The current study has shown that viable spermatozoa can be recovered after 48 hours of storage at 4 ̊C of the cauda epididymides of Nigerian local dogs
Sperm motility decreased significantly (p < 0.05) after 12th, 24th and 48th hours compared to the 0th hour group
Summary
Reproduction in dogs can be achieved naturally through mating or artificially through assisted reproductive technologies such as artificial insemination (AI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Chilling and freezing of semen are two ways by which semen could be preserved for use in assisted reproductive technologies. Interest in the use of cauda epididymal spermatozoa for assisted reproductive technologies has grown recently [2] [3] [4]. Cauda epididymal spermatozoa can be recovered either during castration or post mortem. Pregnancies and live births have been reported in horse [3], sheep [5], rat [6] [7], cow [8] [9], goat [10], human [11] [12] [13] and in dogs [4] [14] when epididymal spermatozoa were used. Recovery of the epididymal spermatozoa helps to ensure that the genetic materials of a highly priced or valuable animal are not lost
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