González-Maldonado Juan, Ramírez-Valverde Gustavo, Rangel-Santos Raymundo, Lorenzo Torres Alfredo, Muñoz-García Canuto, Maldonado-Jáquez Jorge Alonso
Instituto de Ciencias Agrícolas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali, Mexico.
Departamento de Estadística, Colegio de Postgraduados, Texcoco, Mexico.
Reprod Domest Anim. 2023 Oct;58(10):1487-1493. doi: 10.1111/rda.14463. Epub 2023 Aug 27.
Adding gelling agents to convert the liquid state of the semen extender to a solid state allows for an increased sperm life span. Gelatin and alginate have been used to study the effects of gelling agents on sperm quality. However, there are other gelling agents that have not been studied, such as agar. In addition, studying different sources of gelling agents or the effect of mixing more than one gelling agent with semen extenders on sperm fertility has received little attention. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding agar and a mixture of gelling agents from different sources to semen extender on ram sperm traits and fertility. The first trial evaluated the effect of the addition of 2.5-3 mg mL of gelatin mixed with 0.5-20 mg mL of agar or alginate to ram semen extender on sperm (motility, progressive motility, live/dead, membrane integrity) and semen (pH) characteristics. The response variables were evaluated 1, 72 and 144 h after storage at 4°C. In the second trial, two sources (feed grade and bacteriological) of gelatin and agar were evaluated on the response variables as in Trial 1. In trial 3, a total of 34 ewes were inseminated with doses supplemented (n = 17) with or without (n = 17) agar and gelatin. The pregnancy rate was diagnosed 40 days after insemination. In general, adding agar and gelatin improves (p < .05) sperm motility, membrane integrity and the ratio of live sperm after 144 h of storage compared to the Control group, regardless of the source (bacteriological or feed grade). However, the pregnancy rate in ewes was not influenced (p ≥ .05) by semen doses stored with agar and gelatin. In conclusion, the addition of agar and gelatin preserves ram sperm motility and membrane integrity after 144 of storage at 4°C without affecting the pregnancy rate in inseminated ewes.
添加胶凝剂将精液稀释剂的液态转变为固态可延长精子寿命。明胶和藻酸盐已被用于研究胶凝剂对精子质量的影响。然而，还有其他一些胶凝剂尚未得到研究，如琼脂。此外，研究不同来源的胶凝剂或多种胶凝剂与精液稀释剂混合对精子受精能力的影响很少受到关注。因此，本研究的目的是评估向精液稀释剂中添加琼脂和不同来源的胶凝剂混合物对公羊精子特性和受精能力的影响。第一个试验评估了向公羊精液稀释剂中添加2.5 - 3毫克/毫升明胶与0.5 - 20毫克/毫升琼脂或藻酸盐对精子（活力、直线运动活力、活/死、膜完整性）和精液（pH值）特性的影响。在4℃储存1、72和144小时后评估反应变量。在第二个试验中，如试验1那样评估了两种来源（饲料级和细菌学级）的明胶和琼脂对反应变量的影响。在试验3中，总共34只母羊分别用添加（n = 17）或不添加（n = 17）琼脂和明胶的剂量进行授精。在授精后40天诊断妊娠率。总体而言，与对照组相比，添加琼脂和明胶可提高（p < 0.05）在储存144小时后的精子活力、膜完整性和活精子比例，无论来源是细菌学级还是饲料级。然而，母羊的妊娠率不受添加琼脂和明胶储存的精液剂量的影响（p≥0.05）。总之，添加琼脂和明胶可在4℃储存144小时后保持公羊精子活力和膜完整性，且不影响授精母羊的妊娠率。
