POST-THAW VIABILITY OF EUROPEAN BISON (BISON BONASUS) SEMEN FROZEN WITH EXTENDERS CONTAINING EGG YOLK OR LIPIDS OF PLANT ORIGIN AND EXAMINED WITH A HETEROLOGOUS IN VITRO FERTILIZATION ASSAY

Review: Reproductive physiology of bison and application of assisted reproductive technologies to their conservation

Bison are an ecologically and culturally important species on the European and North American continents. Their near extirpation was met with conservation efforts that prevented their extinction but left few animals or highly fragmented populations. Contemporary conservation efforts are focused on building ecologically and genetically sustainable bison herds for long-term conservation of the species. Assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) can play a key role in building these herds by facilitating the movement of genetics in the form of gametes and embryos, while protecting animal well-being and ensuring biosecurity of existing bison herds. In addition, ARTs such as gamete and embryo cryopreservation can be used to protect against future losses of genetic diversity through biobanking. In this review, a brief summary of basic bison reproductive physiology is presented followed by an overview of the current state of ART in Bison bison (American bison) and Bison bonasus (European bison or wisent). Research on ART ranging from artificial insemination to in vitro embryo transfer and cloning is discussed with particular regard to the application of ART for conservation purposes. While significant progress has been made in ART for bison, there are still many opportunities to improve these technologies and expand their impact for bison conservation.

Strong Heterogeneity in Advances in Cryopreservation Techniques in the Mammalian Orders

Between 1970 and 2012, vertebrate abundance has declined by 58% with an average annual decline of 2%, calling for serious action to prevent a mass extinction and an irreversible loss of biodiversity. Cryobanks and cryopreservation have the potential to assist and improve ex situ and in situ conservation strategies by storing valuable genetic material. A great deal of studies concerning cryopreservation have been performed within the class Mammalia, although no systematic overview has previously been presented. The objective of this study is therefore to evaluate the status, pattern and future of cryopreservation within Mammalia. A strong disproportional distribution of studies in examined orders is displayed. For the majority of examined orders less than 10% of species has been examined. However, the cryopreservation of germplasm has in several cases been successful and resulted in successful applications of assisted reproductive techniques (ARTs). Various obstacles are associated with the development of cryopreservation protocols, and among them the most prominent is interspecific differences in cryotolerance. Extrapolation of protocols in closely related species is considered the most applicable procedure, and a future supplement to overcome this problem is the examination and comparison of cryobiological traits. Successful protocols have been developed for the vast majority of domesticated mammals, which gives incentive for the further extrapolation of protocols in threatened species.

Cryopreservation of canine sperm using egg yolk and soy bean based extenders

Animal protein-based extenders are widely used despite being a potential source of bacterial or mycoplasma contamination. Its replacement with vegetal protein-based extenders could represent an interesting alternative for dog sperm cryopreservation. This technique could be further improved by the addition of Tris-Glucose-Citric acid (TGC) that could physically protect the spermatozoa and improve its homeostasis. The aim of this study was to evaluate a cryopreservation protocol for dog spermatozoa using a soybean-based extender (LP1℗) as well as the effects of the addition of (TGC) immediately after the semen collection. Eleven ejaculates from purebred adult dogs were collected, centrifuged in the absence or presence of TGC and processed as fresh or cryopreserved spermatozoa with: egg yolk-based extender (CaniPRO) or LP1℗. Freezing the spermatozoa in LP1℗ reduced the amplitude of the lateral head displacement, the percentage of spermatozoa that showed the intact acrosome and the mitochondrial function (P<0.05). These samples also showed a trend towards increased percentage of apoptotic spermatozoa (P<0.05). The addition of TGC before centrifugation did not improve the seminal parameters and adversely affected motility (P<0.05) in the spermatozoa cryopreserved in CaniPRO. However, TGC did not affect motility and increased (P<0.05) the percentage of intact acrosomes in the spermatozoa cryopreserved in LP1℗, reaching similar values than those cryopreserved in CaniPRO. In conclusion, LP1® plus TGC provide the same level of protection to dog spermatozoa cryopreservation than the egg yolk based extender CaniPRO when comparing standard post-thaw sperm quality parameters.

Effect of cryopreservation on the sperm DNA fragmentation dynamics of the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

Sperm DNA fragmentation is one of the major causes of infertility; the sperm chromatin dispersion test (SCDt) evaluates this parameter and offers the advantage of species-specific validated protocol and ease of use under field conditions. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate sperm DNA fragmentation dynamics in both fresh and post-thaw bottlenose dolphin sperm using the SCDt following different cryopreservation protocols to gain new information about the post-thaw differential sperm DNA longevity in this species. Fresh and cryopreserved semen samples from five bottlenose dolphins were examined for sperm DNA fragmentation dynamics using the SCDt (Halomax(®)). Sperm DNA fragmentation was assessed immediately at collection and following cryopreservation (T0) and then after 0.5, 1, 4, 8, 24, 48 and 72 h incubation at 37°C. Serially collected ejaculates from four dolphins were frozen using different cryopreservation protocols in a TES-TRIS-fructose buffer (TTF), an egg-yolk-free vegetable lipid LP1 buffer (LP1) and human sperm preservation medium (HSPM). Fresh ejaculated spermatozoa initially showed low levels of DNA fragmentation for up to 48 h. Lower Sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) was found in the second fresh ejaculate compared to the first when more than one sample was collected on the same day (p < 0.05); this difference was not apparent in any other seminal characteristic. While there was no difference observed in SDF between fresh and frozen-thawed sperm using the different cryopreservation protocols immediately after thawing (T0), frozen-thawed spermatozoa incubated at 37°C showed an increase in the rate of SDF after 24 h. Sperm frozen in the LP1(℗) buffer had higher levels (p < 0.05) of DNA fragmentation after 24- and 48-h incubation than those frozen in TTF or HSPM. No correlation was found between any seminal characteristic and DNA fragmentation in either fresh and/or frozen-thawed samples.

Flow cytometric and microscopic evaluation of post-thawed ram semen cryopreserved in chemically defined home-made or commercial extenders

The present study was designed to determine the effect of three different extenders on ram sperm quality during a freeze–thawing procedure using flow cytometric and microscopic evaluations. Several in vitro qualitative analyses of post-thawed sperm parameters including motility and velocity parameters, plasma membrane functionality, total abnormality, capacitation status, acrosome integrity, mitochondrial activity and apoptosis features were considered. In the breeding season, seven ejaculates from each Zandi ram were collected routinely twice a week. Following semen collection, samples were pooled and equally divided into three aliquots. Each aliquot was diluted and frozen with one of the following extenders: (1) Tris-based extender containing 1.5% (w/v) soybean lecithin (TSL), as a chemically defined extender, (2) Bioxcell, a commercial soybean lecithin-based extender, and (3) Tris-based extender containing 20% (v/v) egg yolk (TEY). The results of the present study indicated no differences in total [TSL (55.8 ± 2.02%) vs TEY (50.2 ± 2.02%; P < 0.05)] and progressive motility of spermatozoa [TSL (26.2 ± 1.36%) vs Bioxcell (22.4 ± 1.36%; P < 0.05)]. Semen freezing by means of TSL resulted in a higher percentage of live spermatozoa (39.42 ± 1.81%) compared with TEY (29.17 ± 1.81%; P < 0.05), and a higher percentage of functional plasma membrane (50.8 ± 192%) compared with TEY (44 ± 1.92%) and Bioxcell (38.8 ± 1.92%; P < 0.05). The effect of extenders on sperm capacitation status showed that the percentage of post-thawed capacitated spermatozoa was higher in TEY (61.9 ± 1.48%) compared with that in TSL (56.6 ± 1.48%; P < 0.05). The evaluation of post-thawed spermatozoa indicated that the percentage of live spermatozoa with active mitochondria was higher in TSL (53.05 ± 2.31%) compared with Bioxcell (45.92 ± 2.31; P < 0.05) and the percentage of intact acrosome spermatozoa was higher in TSL (84.55 ± 2.51%) compared with TEY (74.91 ± 2.51%; P < 0.05). The use of TSL and Bioxcell extenders reduced the percentage of apoptotic spermatozoa (40.82 ± 2.07% and 42.22 ± 2.07%, respectively), compared with TEY (51.34 ± 2.07%; P < 0.05). Post-thawing dead spermatozoa were increased when semen was frozen by Bioxcell (25.69 ± 1.28%). The results of this study showed that TSL extender may provide stabile milieu and conditions for ram sperm cryopreservation compared with Bioxcell and TEY extenders. Whether TSL extender can improve the artificial insemination results remains, however, an open question.

In vitro development of bison embryos using interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer

Interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (interspecies SCNT) has been explored in many domestic and non-domestic animal species. However, problems arise during the development of these embryos, which may be related to species-specific differences in nuclear-cytoplasmic communication. The objectives of this study were to investigate the possibility of producing bison embryos in vitro using interspecies SCNT and assess the developmental potential of these embryos. Treatment groups consisted of cattle in vitro fertilization (IVF) and cattle SCNT as controls and wood bison SCNT, plains bison SCNT and wisent SCNT as experimental groups. Cleavage and blastocyst rates were assessed, and blastocyst quality was determined using total cell number, apoptotic incidence and relative quantification of mitochondria-related genes NRF1, MT-CYB and TFAM. These results indicate that embryos can be produced by interspecies SCNT in all bison species/subspecies (13.34-33.54% blastocyst rates). Although increased incidence of apoptosis was observed in bison SCNT blastocysts compared to cattle SCNT controls (10.45-12.69 vs 8.76, respectively) that corresponded with significantly lower cell numbers (80-87 cells vs >100 cells, respectively), no major differences were observed in the expression of NRF1, MT-CYB and TFAM. This study is the first to report the production of bison embryos by interspecies SCNT. Blastocyst development in all three bison species/subspecies was greater than the rates obtained in previous studies by IVF, which supports the potential role of SCNT for in vitro embryo production in this species. Yet, further investigation of developmental competence and the factors influencing blastocyst quality and viability is required.

Xenografting of testis tissue from bison calf donors into recipient mice as a strategy for salvaging genetic material

The objective was to evaluate the long-term outcome of testis tissue xenografting from neonatal bison calves as a model for closely related rare or endangered ungulates. Testis tissue was collected postmortem from two newborn bison calves (Bison bison bison) and small fragments of the tissue were grafted under the back skin of immunodeficient recipient mice (n = 15 mice; eight fragments/mouse). Single xenograft samples were removed from representative recipient mice every 2 mo after grafting (for up to 16 mo). The retrieved xenografts were evaluated for seminiferous tubular density, tubular diameter, seminiferous tubular morphology, and identification of the most advanced germ cell type. Overall, 69% of the grafted testis fragments were recovered as xenografts. Xenografts weight increased (P < 0.02) approximately four-fold by 2 mo and 10-fold by 16 mo post-grafting. In testis xenografts, gradual maturational changes were evident, manifested as the first detection of the following at the times specified: seminiferous tubule expansion, 2 mo; spermatocytes, 6 mo; round spermatids, 12 mo; and elongated spermatids, 16 mo. Furthermore, there were differences between the two donor calves regarding the efficiency of spermatogenesis in xenografts. The timing of complete spermatogenesis approximately corresponded to the reported timing of sexual maturation in bison. This study demonstrated, apparently for the first time, that testis tissue xenografting from neonatal bison donors into recipient mice resulted in testicular maturation and complete development of spermatogenesis in the grafts.