Challenges facing sex preselection of stallion spermatozoa

Since the production of the first live offspring from sex-sorted spermatozoa in 1989, there have been many developments in the fluorescence-activated cell separation (FACS) procedures to preselect X- and Y-chromosome bearing spermatozoa prior to insemination. During this time, FACS technology has been applied to a range of species and has resulted in offspring from rabbits, cattle, sheep, elk and horses. In horses, satisfactory fertility rates have been achieved after hysteroscopic insemination of 20 x 10(6) fresh or stored, sex-sorted spermatozoa. However, many of the sperm processing protocols are still based on the original protocol and components of these procedures may not necessarily be suitable for the stallion. This review examines the details of FACS protocols that have resulted in the production of live offspring and makes comparisons with the published stallion protocols in an attempt to determine how best to improve the fertility of sorted, frozen-thawed stallion spermatozoa.