Effect of sperm pooling with seminal plasma collected in breeding or nonbreeding season on Saanen goat sperm cryosurvival

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of both the removal of seminal plasma (SP) and the pre-freezing addition of seminal plasma collected during the breeding or nonbreeding season on goat sperm survival after thawing. Semen samples were pooled. One aliquot of pooled semen was used as a control group. Four aliquots were then centrifuged, and the SP was removed in Group I, pipetted but not removed in Group II, removed and then pooled for animals collected in the breeding season in Group III and removed and pooled for animals collected in the nonbreeding season in Group IV. Group samples were frozen and then were assessed for rates of sperm motility, plasma membrane functional integrity hypo-osmotic swelling test (HOST), defective acrosomes (FITC-PSA), DNA fragmentation (TUNEL) and mitochondrial membrane damage (Rhodamine 123). The results showed that pre-freezing addition of SP collected in breeding season maintained post-thaw sperm characteristics at 0hr better than SP removal group, but removing seminal plasma showed positive effects on spermatozoa, as incubation time increased to 5hr. In conclusion, the pre-freezing addition of seminal plasma did not maintain post-thaw goat sperm characteristics as successfully as in the groups with seminal plasma removed after an incubation period.