Study the Morphometry of Fresh and Cryopreserved Murrah Bull Spermatozoa

Abstract

Artificial insemination with frozen – thawed spermatozoa was introduced in most of the developing countries more than three decades ago, yet it has not been successfully applied in large scale (Anzar et al., 2003). More than 50% spermatozoa are usually injured by the cryopreservation process (Watson, 1995) injuries due to cryopreservation and more likely due to the increased solute concentration and the formation of intracellular and extracellular ice crystals during cryopreservation (Mazur, 1984) leading to a significant decline in semen quality and alterations in sperm morphometrix. Therefore, the present study was designed to study cryopreservation of buffalo semen and the effect of semen cryopreservation on determinant like semen fertility viz. sperm morphometry. Forty-eight semen samples collected from eight Murrah buffalo bulls maintained at Central semen station, Bhopal were included for the study of physic-morphological characters of neat and cryopreserved semen. Various measurements of the sperm head (length, width, base, ellipticity, elongation, head shape and area) and sperm tail (length of Midpiece and length of tail) were recorded in neat and cryopreserved semen. The average sperm measurements recorded were 7.24 ± 0.06, 4.26 ± 0.05, 2.65 ± 0.79, 11.92 ± 1.53, 43.12 ± 2.79, 61.97 ± 0.50, 25 ± 0.07, 19.13 ± 2.58, 0.59 ± 0.01, and 59.07 ± 0.94, respectively. There was a significant (P<0.05) decline of sperm head length, head width, midpiece length, tail length, total length and head area during the process of cryopreservation. However, no significant difference between width at base, ellipticity, head shape and elongation of the spermatozoa in neat and cryopreserved semen was recorded.