Identification of cryodamage on plasma membrane integrity in bull spermatozoa and its relationship with field fertility

• Armando Quintero Moreno Universidad del Zulia-Venezuela
• Jorge Rubio Guillén Universidad del Zulia-Venezuela
• Decio González Villalobos Universidad del Zulia-Venezuela
• Juan Carlos Gutiérrez Universidad del Zulia-Venezuela
• Ninoska Madrid Bury Universidad del Zulia-Venezuela
• José Julián Garde López Brea Universidad de Castilla-España

Palabras clave: bull semen, HOST test, membrane integrity, field fertility

Resumen

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cryopreservation on the membrane integrity (MI) in the bull sperm, and determine the relationship between intact cryopreserved sperm and field fertility (FF). The eosin nigrosin exclusion and the hypo-osmotic swelling test were combined in a single test (HOS-EN test) to identify the spermatozoa with four types of MI. After cryopreservation, there was a marked decline (21.3%) in the percentage of spermatozoa with head membrane intact/ tail membrane intact (Type IV MI), and a significant increase in those with head membrane damaged/ tail membrane damaged (Type I MI) (P<0.001), whereas type II MI (head membrane intact /tail membrane damage) and type III MI (head membrane damage/ tail membrane intact) ocurred sparingly. A significant correlation was observed between the percentage of Type IV MI and FF (r=0.49, P<0.014). Cryopreservation causes a important demage in the plasmatic membrane of the spermatozoa. Intact MI is closely related to FF.