Controlled freezing studies on boar sperm cryopreservation

Boar spermatozoa from different males were frozen at a number of cooling rates using a controlled-rate freezing machine designed to minimise thermal variables involved in the cooling process, to see whether inter-boar sperm cryosurvival may be improved by changing cooling rate. Four cooling rates in the range 3 °C min⁻¹ to 24 °C min⁻¹ from +5 °C to −5 °C and five cooling rates in the range 5 °C min⁻¹ to 80 °C min⁻¹ from −5 °C to −80 °C were tested. Motile spermatozoa were assessed by CASA, plasma membrane integrity by fluorescent probes (SYBR14/propidium iodide) and flow cytometry, and acrosome membrane integrity by lectins (PSA-rhodamine) and fluorescent microscopy. Cooling rate affected sperm cryosurvival from different boars in different ways; that is, spermatozoa from some individuals were less susceptible than those from others. For some individuals, sperm cryosurvival was poor regardless of cooling rate, but for others it was better with faster rates. This confirms cooling rate effects on sperm cryosurvival depend on inter-individual boar differences more than on the cooling process itself.