THE CRYOPRESERVATION OF STRIPED BASS MORONE SAXATILIS SEMEN

K. Jenkins-Keeran, L. Curry Woods, III-2002

Journal of the World Aquaculture Society, 33(1): 70-77

Abstract:

Two experiments were designed to improve upon existing methods for cryopreserving striped bass Morone saxatilis, semen. In the first experiment, two extenders, two cryoprotectant concentrations, and two freezing rates were evaluated on the basis of post-thaw semen motility after 1, 7, and 30 d of storage at –196°C. Semen samples cryopreserved at a freezing rate of –40°C/min resulted in a significantly higher percentage of motile sperm (P<0.001) than samples cryopreserved at a freezing rate of –30°C/min. Also, the cryoprotectant dimethyl-sulfoxide yielded a significantly higher percentage of motile sperm (P<0.001) and longer duration of spermatozoa motility (P<0.001) when a 5% concentration was used instead of 7.5%. In the second experiment, the two extenders from Experiment 1 were re-evaluated and a new extender, which was a modified version of Extender 1, was tested. The samples were cryopreserved at –40°C/min with 5% DMSO and thawed in a 25°C water bath. Spermatozoa motility and fertilization ability were evaluated, and semen cryopreserved in Extender 2 yielded the longest duration of spermatozoa motility (P<0.001), the highest percentage of motile sperm (P<0.001),and the highest percentage of fertilized eggs (P<0.002) in comparison to Extenders 1 and 3.

(Department of Animal and Avian Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA)

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