SEMEN CHARACTERISTICS OF PARAOAKAN NATIVE CHICKEN BEFORE AND AFTER CRYOPRESERVATION USING GLYCEROL OR DIMETHYL SULFOXIDE IN AU BASED SEMEN EXTENDER

Abstract

Chicken semen cryopreservation is an essential tool for programs of genetic diversity management and conservation of endangered breed lines particularly the Philippine native chicken. However, the method still needs improvement for it to be applied in a wide variety of environments and breeds. This study compared the effects of two permeating cryoprotectants (dimethyl sulfoxide, also called DMSO, and glycerol) during the freezing of semen from Paraoakan native chickens, grouped into either good or poor batches based on their CASA-evaluated initial sperm motility and by adopting a reported freezing protocol for avian using liquid nitrogen. Here, the two cryoprotectants (DMSO and glycerol) were tested for their post-thawing efficiency. The cryopreservation method was done using 0.5 mL straws with AU as its diluent. Different semen parameters (i.e., motility, viability, and progressive motility) were evaluated before and after cryopreservation. Results showed that glycerol is a better cryoprotectant in terms of post-thawing motility and viability (P<0.005). Moreover, glycerol and DMSO exhibited no difference (P<0.005) in terms of progressive sperm motility after thawing. Additionally, our results show that motility has a monotonic direct relationship with viability (P<0.005).