Transport and cryopreservation of sperm of the common snook, Centropomus undecimalis (Bloch) |
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| Authors: | T R Tiersch W R Wayman D P Skapura C L Neidig & H J Grier |
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| Institution: | Aquaculture Research Station, Louisiana Agricultural Experimental Station, Louisiana State University Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA;United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Warm Springs Regional Fisheries Center, Warm Springs, GA, USA;Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL, USA;Florida Marine Research Institute, Stock Enhancement Research Facility, Palmetto, FL, USA |
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| Abstract: | Sperm were collected in Florida from wild common snook, Centropomus undecimalis (Bloch), and were shipped to Louisiana State University for analysis and cryopreservation. Threshold activation of sperm (10% motility) occurred at 370 mOsmol kg?1, and complete activation occurred at 680 mOsmol kg?1. These values were significantly different. Sperm samples stored at 1°C in Hanks' balanced salt solution (HBSS) or in 0.6% NaCl solution at 200 mOsmol kg?1 retained motility for as long as 22 days. Mean motility remained above 50% for 9 days for sperm stored in HBSS and for 7 days for sperm stored in NaCl solution. Sperm exposed to 5% dimethyl acetamide (62±10%; mean±SD), 10% dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) (39±16%), 5% glycerol (26±5%) or 10% glycerol (6±2%) for 30 min had significantly lower motility than did unexposed sperm (89±9%). When used as a cryoprotectant, samples frozen with 5% or 10% DMSO or 5% methanol had significantly higher post‐thaw motility than did samples frozen with other cryoprotectants. Sperm cryopreserved with 10% DMSO (38±12%) had significantly higher post‐thaw motility than did sperm cryopreserved with 15% DMSO (19±10%) or 20% DMSO (4±4%). There were no significant differences in hatch rates of eggs fertilized with fresh sperm (54±29%) or cryopreserved sperm (41±35%). Survival to first feeding was not different between fish produced with fresh sperm (37±30%; range, 0–86%) or with thawed sperm (24±29%; 0–77%). Transport of sperm to a cryopreservation laboratory and back to a hatchery for thawing and use enabled collaboration between groups with specific expertise and provides a model for the application of cryopreservation by transport of fresh and frozen samples. |
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| Keywords: | germplasm genetic resources artificial spawning |
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