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Cryopreservation of houbara semen: A pilot study
Author(s) -
Hartley Paul S.,
Dawson Bob,
Lindsay Claire,
McCormick Paul,
Wishart Graham
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
zoo biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.5
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1098-2361
pISSN - 0733-3188
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1098-2361(1999)18:2<147::aid-zoo6>3.0.co;2-7
Subject(s) - bustard , biology , cryopreservation , semen , cryoprotectant , rooster , sperm , semen cryopreservation , andrology , seasonal breeder , sperm motility , zoology , anatomy , ecology , botany , embryo , fishery , medicine , philosophy , theology , habitat
Abstract The potential of producing viable houbara bustard Chlamydotis undulata undulata progeny with cryopreserved semen was investigated during the 1998 breeding season. Houbara semen was diluted and rapidly frozen into pellet form in LN 2 using dimethylacetamide (DMA) as a cryoprotectant. Thawed semen exhibited 24.86± 10.61% recovery of fresh sperm motility levels and 36.44±16.17% of fresh viability counts. Two second‐year females were inseminated on two and three occasions, respectively, with thawed semen. One female laid four eggs between two clutches and the second female laid two eggs in a single clutch. All eggs were fertile; two developed to 18–21days but failed to pip; one chick died at pip and three chicks hatched. This is the first documented occasion that houbara bustard chicks were conceived with cryopreserved semen and it demonstrates the feasibility of using a rapid, simple, and relatively inexpensive methodology to achieve this result. Zoo Biol 18:147–152, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.