| dc.description.abstract | The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three extenders on ram sperm quality after
short-term liquid storage (24 hours’ holding time). The study included 20 crossbred rams (Pirot Pramenka x
Wurttemberg x Ile de France), 12 months old. Animals were housed at the experimental sheep farm of the
Institute for Animal Husbandry in Belgrade, Serbia. Semen was collected through electro ejaculation. The
ejaculates were obtained from single services and routine field analysis of the semen was performed
immediately after the collection. The semen was split and diluted with three extenders, namely Optidyl®
,
Andromed® and ultrahigh temperature processed (UHT) milk, in ratios of 1 : 50 or 1 : 100. The ejaculates
were examined for sperm motility variables (sperm cell motility percentage, the progressive motility
percentage, curvilinear velocity (VCL), straight line velocity (VSL), average path velocity (VAP), sperm
linearity (LIN), straightness (STR), amplitude of lateral sperm head displacement (ALH), beat cross
frequency (BCF) and circular tracks), and sperm morphology (live sperm percentage, percentage of normal
sperm forms with intact acrosome, percentage of abnormal sperm forms and total damaged acrosome) by
computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) and classic sperm cytology after supravital eosin/nigrosine/trypan
blue staining, respectively. It was observed that the type of extender used in diluting ram semen is an
important factor in the successful short-term liquid preservation (at 4 °C) of ram spermatozoa. In conclusion,
this study showed that egg yolk (Optidyl) and soybean (Andromed)-based extenders gave better results of
both sperm morphology and sperm motility parameters compared with UHT milk. | en_US |
