<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The objective of the study was to determine the effect of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on quality of cryopreserved semen of young bulls. Semen for this study was collected from 8 bulls aged between 13 and 18 months at monthly intervals, from June to September. After collection, semen was diluted in a commercial Bioxcell<sup>®</sup> extender (one part at 1:1 and a second part to give a sperm concentration of 20 million/0.2 mL), filled into straws and treated with HHP at 30 MPa for 90 min. After HHP treatment, pre-diluted semen (1:1) was diluted to a sperm concentration 20 million/0.2 mL and filled into straws. In addition, part of the semen diluted to a concentration of 20 million/0.2 mL was not treated with HHP (control). All of it was held at +4°C and frozen in a freezer after 2.5-h equilibration. Semen was thawed in a water bath at 38°C and subjected to estimation of the percentage of motile sperm both subjectively and using a computer-assisted semen analyzer and cytometric assessment of sperm cell membrane integrity. Subjective motility and fast progressive motility were significantly higher with pre-diluted (1:1) and HHP treated semen compared to control (P&lt;0.05). No significant differences were observed in percentage of membraneintact spermatozoa between control and experimental groups. Additionally, the influence of HHP on the sperm of individual bulls was assessed. In bull number 2, the HHP treatment after semen pre-dilution significantly improved progressive motility from 54.1 to 63.4 percent (P&lt;0.05). In bull number 4, the HHP treatment after semen pre-dilution significantly improved subjective motility, rapid motility and progressive motility by 12.5, 16.8 and 16.3 percent, respectively (P&lt;0.05). No effect was seen for 6 bulls. It is concluded that for some bulls, the application of HHP before semen freezing may improve the cryopreservation outcome. However, this requires further research in this area, also to determine the fertilizing capacity of bull semen exposed to high hydrostatic pressure.</p></abstract>

The objective of the study was to determine the effect of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on quality of cryopreserved semen of young bulls. Semen for this study was collected from 8 bulls aged between 13 and 18 months at monthly intervals, from June to September. After collection, semen was diluted in a commercial Bioxcell® extender (one part at 1:1 and a second part to give a sperm concentration of 20 million/0.2 mL), filled into straws and treated with HHP at 30 MPa for 90 min. After HHP treatment, pre-diluted semen (1:1) was diluted to a sperm concentration 20 million/0.2 mL and filled into straws. In addition, part of the semen diluted to a concentration of 20 million/0.2 mL was not treated with HHP (control). All of it was held at +4°C and frozen in a freezer after 2.5-h equilibration. Semen was thawed in a water bath at 38°C and subjected to estimation of the percentage of motile sperm both subjectively and using a computer-assisted semen analyzer and cytometric assessment of sperm cell membrane integrity. Subjective motility and fast progressive motility were significantly higher with pre-diluted (1:1) and HHP treated semen compared to control (P<0.05). No significant differences were observed in percentage of membraneintact spermatozoa between control and experimental groups. Additionally, the influence of HHP on the sperm of individual bulls was assessed. In bull number 2, the HHP treatment after semen pre-dilution significantly improved progressive motility from 54.1 to 63.4 percent (P<0.05). In bull number 4, the HHP treatment after semen pre-dilution significantly improved subjective motility, rapid motility and progressive motility by 12.5, 16.8 and 16.3 percent, respectively (P<0.05). No effect was seen for 6 bulls. It is concluded that for some bulls, the application of HHP before semen freezing may improve the cryopreservation outcome. However, this requires further research in this area, also to determine the fertilizing capacity of bull semen exposed to high hydrostatic pressure.

Application of High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP) to Improve Cryopreservation of Young Bull Semen

Department of Reproductive Biotechnology and Cryoconservation

Annals of Animal Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The objective of the study was to determine the effect of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) on quality of cryopreserved semen of young bulls. Semen for this...

Application of High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP) to Improve Cryopreservation of Young Bull Semen

Published Online: Oct 28, 2021

Page range: 1367 - 1375

Received: Mar 05, 2021

Accepted: Jul 19, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2021-0059

Keywords
young bull, frozen semen, hydrostatic pressure, motility, membrane integrity

© 2021 Barbara Szczęśniak-Fabiańczyk et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Application of High Hydrostatic Pressure (HHP) to Improve Cryopreservation of Young Bull Semen

Published Online: Oct 28, 2021

Page range: 1367 - 1375

Received: Mar 05, 2021

Accepted: Jul 19, 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2021-0059

Keywordsyoung bull, frozen semen, hydrostatic pressure, motility, membrane integrity

© 2021 Barbara Szczęśniak-Fabiańczyk et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
young bull, frozen semen, hydrostatic pressure, motility, membrane integrity