TY - JOUR
T1 - Efficacy of short-term cold storage prior to cryopreservation of spermatozoa in a threatened lizard
T2 - Efficacy of short-term cold storage prior to cryopreservation of spermatozoa in a threatened lizard (Reproduction, Fertility and Development (2021) DOI: 10.1071/RD20231)
AU - Campbell, Lachlan
AU - Clulow, John
AU - Howe, Belinda
AU - Upton, Rose
AU - Doody, Sean
AU - Clulow, Simon
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Bunuba land, where this research was performed. The authors thank Julian Carson for assistance in the field and Shenae Cafe for assistance in the laboratory. This project was conducted with funding from the Jane Fenwick Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Journal Compilation
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) have a significant role to play in reptile conservation, yet are severely lacking. Previous attempts to cryopreserve spermatozoa in the threatened lizard Varanus panoptes achieved approximately 48% motile sperm post-thaw for samples frozen immediately after collection. However, the feasibility of extended cold storage before cryopreservation has not been tested. We held V. panoptes spermatozoa at either 25°C or 4°C for 8 days, assessing sperm motility at days 1, 2, 4 and 8. Subsamples were cryopreserved on days 1 and 4 following the previously reported protocol for this species. Percentage motility decreased rapidly at 25°C, but did not decrease significantly until 4 days after collection at 4°C, with >30% motility maintained after 8 days. There was no significant difference in post-thaw motility or viability of samples cryopreserved after 1 or 4 days storage at 4°C, yielding substantial results for both parameters (mean motility 23.8% and 28.1% and mean viability 50.1% and 57.5% after 1 and 4 days respectively). We demonstrate the capacity to extend sperm viability for up to 8 days in unfrozen samples and to produce acceptable post-thaw motility in samples frozen after 4 days of storage, contributing to the development of valuable ARTs for lizards and other reptiles.
AB - Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) have a significant role to play in reptile conservation, yet are severely lacking. Previous attempts to cryopreserve spermatozoa in the threatened lizard Varanus panoptes achieved approximately 48% motile sperm post-thaw for samples frozen immediately after collection. However, the feasibility of extended cold storage before cryopreservation has not been tested. We held V. panoptes spermatozoa at either 25°C or 4°C for 8 days, assessing sperm motility at days 1, 2, 4 and 8. Subsamples were cryopreserved on days 1 and 4 following the previously reported protocol for this species. Percentage motility decreased rapidly at 25°C, but did not decrease significantly until 4 days after collection at 4°C, with >30% motility maintained after 8 days. There was no significant difference in post-thaw motility or viability of samples cryopreserved after 1 or 4 days storage at 4°C, yielding substantial results for both parameters (mean motility 23.8% and 28.1% and mean viability 50.1% and 57.5% after 1 and 4 days respectively). We demonstrate the capacity to extend sperm viability for up to 8 days in unfrozen samples and to produce acceptable post-thaw motility in samples frozen after 4 days of storage, contributing to the development of valuable ARTs for lizards and other reptiles.
KW - assisted reproductive technologies
KW - conservation
KW - genome storage
KW - reptile
KW - squamate
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101995771&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/1617f3f1-4064-3377-b35d-7ca93b3f1fb9/
UR - https://doi.org/10.1071/RD20231_CO
U2 - 10.1071/RD20231
DO - 10.1071/RD20231
M3 - Article
C2 - 33646936
AN - SCOPUS:85101995771
SN - 1031-3613
VL - 33
SP - 555
EP - 561
JO - Reproduction, Fertility and Development
JF - Reproduction, Fertility and Development
IS - 9
ER -