Fertility of boar spermatozoa after freezing in the absence of seminal vesicular proteins

Abstract

Because exposure to seminal plasma enhances the detrimental effects of cold shock on boar spermatozoa (Lasley & Bogart, 1944; Pursel, Johnson & Rampacek, 1972), many procedures for preserving semen by deep freezing employ sperm-rich ejaculate fractions (Pursel & Johnson, 1975; Larrson & Einarsson, 1975), thereby excluding much of the seminal plasma. Our previous studies showed that a basic protein fraction of seminal vesicle origin binds irreversibly to boar spermatozoa at ejaculation (Moore & Hibbitt, 1976) and during cooling promotes sperm membrane disruption (Moore, Hall & Hibbitt, 1976). We therefore tested the possibility that boar spermatozoa could be frozen more effectively in the absence of seminal vesicular fluid.