Temperature control in the low temperature preservation of spermatozoa

✍ Scribed by Bruemmer, J. H. ;Eddy, R. W. ;Duryea, W. J.

• Publisher: Wiley (John Wiley & Sons)
• Year: 1963
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 350 KB
• Volume: 62
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0095-9898
• DOI: 10.1002/jcp.1030620202

✦ Synopsis

recognized the necessity of controlled slow cooling for the low temperature preservation of bull semen. They suggested that cooling semen at rates between 1 " to 3°C per minute over the range -I-5" to about -15°C was optimal for recovery of viable and fertile bovine spermatozoa. Recently, more rapid cooling was shown not to be detrimental to motility of spermatozoa (Luyet and Keane, '55; Sialy and Smith, '57; Kennelly et al., '60).

With the development of cryogenic equipment in our laboratory to control accurately the rate of cooling over specific temperature ranges (Cowley et al., '62), we were able to examine critically the contribution of thermal history to the quality of preserved semen. Bull semen extended in egg yolk-citrate-glycerol solution was cooled at rates from 0.2" to over 200°C per minute and stored in liquid nitrogen refrigerators. The data reported below indi- cate that controlling the rate of cooling between 4" to 20°C per minute over the range -10" to -330°C permits optimal recovery of viable spermatozoa from lowtemperature-stored bovine semen.