The mitochondria-targeted antioxidant Mito-TEMPO conserves rooster’s cooled semen quality and fertility potential

Abstract

The PUFAs content of rooster sperm cells makes them vulnerable to the thermal shocks during chilling storage, which reduces the fertility performance of cooled sperm. Extender supplementation with antioxidants is a reasonable method to conserve sperm fertility potential during cooling storage process. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of Mito-TEMPO addition to the Lake medium on rooster sperm quality and fertility potential during cooling process. Semen samples were diluted in the Lake medium and assigned into five equal aliquots and supplemented with 0, 0.5, 5, 50 and 500 μM Mito-TEMPO. Then, the samples were cooled at 5 °C and conserved up to 50 h. Total motility, progressive motility, morphology, viability, membrane integrity, lipid peroxidation and mitochondrial activity of samples were analyzed during 0, 25 and 50 h of cooling period. Artificial insemination was also conducted using 25 h-cooled semen. No significant difference was observed among different treatments during quality evaluations at 0 h storage. Extender supplementation with 5 and 50 μM Mito-TEMPO presented greater (P ≤ 0.05) total motility, progressive motility, viability, membrane integrity and lower lipid peroxidation compared to other groups during 25 and 50 h cooling storage. Mitochondrial activity was higher (P ≤ 0.05) in groups received 5, 50 and 500 μM Mito-TEMPO than others. Fertility rate of 25 h-cooled-stored samples was higher (P ≤ 0.05) in groups containing 5 and 50 μM Mito-TEMPO compared to control group. In conclusion, addition of 5 and 50 μM Mito-TEMPO as a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant to the storage medium could be a suitable method to conserve rooster semen quality against stressful conditions of cooling storage process.