EVALUATION IN THE CASA SYSTEM OF CRYOPRESERVED BUFFALO SEMEN IN FARM FOR FTAI
Jaci de Almeida, Marc Henry, Osvaldo Almeida Resende
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the motility and sperm membrane integrity of cryopreserved buffalo semen on the farm for use in FTAI. The property is located in Oliveira/MG, Brazil Latitude 20°41’45’’ South and Longitude 44º49’37’’ West. Thirteen Murrah and Mediterranean breeders were used, with ages ranging from 42 to 124 months, with 1 post-thawed straw being evaluated for each bull, totaling 13 straws. The ejaculates were collected by artificial vagina, diluted and frozen in a BotuBov® extender, packaged in 0.5 mL straws, at a total concentration of 50 million SPTZ/mL and processed for stabilization and freezing (Almeida, J., UFMG, Thesis, 2018, 214p.). Sperm motility was evaluated by CASA (Sperm Class Analyzer - SCA® v.4.0) and sperm membrane integrity by hypoosmotic test (HOST). The STATA 12.0 Statistical Analysis Software (Statacorp, 2012) package was used to analyze the evaluations. The average results found for progressive motility (p>0.05) and HOST (p>0.05) for the 13 sires were respectively: A = 71,5±6,1a and 57,9±1,1a%; B = 75,0±1,5a and 62,1±5,1a%; C = 55,0±0,7b and 48,3±4,3c%; D = 75,6±6,2a and 63,9±5,2a%; E = 52,5±0,6c and 45,7±7,4c%; F = 59,6±1,1b and 51,5±0,5b%; G = 51,7±0,7c and 44,3±7,9c%; H = 51,3±0,6c and 46,2±9,7c%; I = 51,1±7,2c and 52,8±3,6b%; J = 63,0±4,2b and 59,2±1,3a%; K = 48,9±7,6c and 46,0±5,8c%; L = 66,0±5,7a and 62,7±6,6a%; and M = 51,7±5,5c and 49,0±5,4b%. The results indicate that even with lower resistance or tolerance to freezing of buffalo semen, when compared to bovine species, they have presented satisfactory results after adequate conditioning of the breeders, even when freezing is carried out on the property. As only one straw per bull was thawed, it is not possible to carry out more detailed analyzes of the results obtained. In experiments conducted in the last 7 years, even though there is no indication in the manufacturer’s package insert for the use of the Botu-Bov® extender for the specie, good results have been obtained for refrigeration and cryopreservation of buffalo semen. It is concluded that it is feasible to obtain frozen semen from buffaloes on farms for use in the FTAI with quality, which meets the technical recommendations (CBRA 2013), especially at a time when there is a shortage of semen in the national market and with few centers having buffalo breeders in a collection and freezing system.