High seminal quality is important to achieve acceptable pregnancy rate following artificial insemination with cryopreserved semen in the equine industry. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is an omega-3-polyunsaturated acid, which improves the integrity of the spermatozoa membrane during temperature changes. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is a protein hormone that helps mainly glucose to enter spermatozoa and it is an antioxidant. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the in vitro addition of DHA in combination with IGF-I to frozen-thawed stallion semen. Three ejaculates from each of three Irish Sport Horse stallions were collected, the gel fraction was removed and semen was diluted in a 1:1 ratio using extender, centrifuged (1.000 g) for 10 minutes at 32 °C and ressuspended to 100 x 10 6 spermatozoa/mL in freezing extender. Semen was cooled to 4 °C, packed into 0.5 mL straws, frozen and stored under liquid nitrogen at-196 °C. Straws were thawed at 37 °C for 30 seconds, semen was diluted to 25 x 10 6 spermatozoa/mL and split in four treatments adding 0 or 1 ng of DHA /mL and 0 or 100 ng of IGF-I /mL: DHA0, DHA0 + IGF-I, DHA1 and DHA1 + IGF-I. Semen was incubated at 32 °C and after 30 minutes, total motility (TM), rapid progressive motility (PM), viability and acrosome integrity were assessed. After 60 and 120 minutes, TM and PM were assessed again. Post-thawed PM was higher (P < 0.05) when DHA1 + IGF-I was added, but there was no effect of the addition of DHA and IGF-I to TM, viability or acrosome integrity (P > 0.05).
This work was carried out with the objective of studying the effect of the anti-reflux device for ovine insemination (DARIO) on the fertility rate in ewes of the native Portuguese breed Churra Galega Bragançana (CGB) artificially inseminated at fixed-time. Eighty-one ewes aged between one and five years were used. At the end of April 2021, ewes’ reproductive control was carried out, using a short progestagen treatment (five days) + equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG). Cervical artificial insemination (AI) was performed at fixed-time (55 hours after the end of the hormonal treatment), with cooled semen. All ewes were inseminated by the same inseminator: 39 ewes with the DARIO tip on the end of the sheath and 42 without this tip. The pregnancy diagnosis was made by ultrasonography 41 days after AI. Age and body condition (BC) did not affect the ewes’ response to the applied hormonal treatment or the fertility rate. Approximately 95.1% of the ewes responded to the progestagen + eCG treatment. Forty-one days after AI, 86.4% of the ewes were pregnant. The use of the DARIO tip did not affect the fertility rate.
Oberlender, 1 luis david sOlis murGas, 2 daniele de lima, 3 Thais schwarz GaGGini 4 márciO GilberTO zanGerOnimO, 5 ana luisa neves alvarenGa 6 e daiane mOreira silva 3
The success of artificial insemination (AI) depends on the equipment used, especially regarding the facilitation of artificial insemination technicians’ work and the positioning of insemination guns in the genital tract of animals. This study aimed to evaluate how vaginal specula and artificial insemination technicians affected the fertility rates of timed artificially inseminated Serrana Transmontano goats (which are indigenous to Portugal). For this, 58 adult nanny-goats aged between three and nine years were used. They were reproductively controlled by a short progestogen treatment (FGA) (seven days) with equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG). Timed cervical AI (43 hours after the end of the hormonal treatment) was performed with chilled semen. Nanny-goats were inseminated by two artificial insemination technicians (A vs. B) alternating two vaginal specula (Minitub vs. “Reyes”). Pregnancy was diagnosed by ultrasound 41 days later. About 98% of nanny-goats responded to our treatment with FGA and eCG. In total, 82.8% of nanny-goats were pregnant 41 days after AI. Neither vaginal specula (Minitub: 81.2% vs. “Reyes”: 84.6%) nor artificial insemination technicians (A: 82.8% vs. B: 82.8%) affected fertility rates. Thus, we conclude that neither the vaginal specula used in this research nor the artificial insemination technicians affected Serrana goat pregnancy rates.
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