Effect of egg yolk plasma on dog sperm cryopreservation

This study evaluated the quality of frozen-thawed dog spermatozoon after the inclusion of egg yolk plasma (EYP) instead of whole egg yolk (EY) in the cryopreservation extender and after distinct periods of exposure to EYP. Seven mongrel dogs were used as sperm donors, and EYP was obtained by centrifugation. In Experiment 1, post-thawing sperm motility (MOT) and integrity of membrane (INT) and acrosome (ACR) were superior for spermatozoon extended with 20% EYP T2 than with 20% EY (P < 0.05), although normal sperm morphology (MOR) did not differ (P > 0.05). In Experiment 2, after ejaculates extended with 20% EYP were cooled at 5°C for 2, 6 and 10 h before freezing, MOT, INT and ACR were similar among periods (P > 0.05). Thus, dog spermatozoon extended with 20% EYP can be kept cooled for up to 10 h prior to freezing, achieving post-thawing quality greater than that obtained with the inclusion of EY in freezing extenders.