Dimethylformamide Preserves the Integrity of Cryopreserved Goat Semen in a Soybean Lecithin-Based Extender.

This study investigated the cryoprotectant effects of dimethylformamide (DMF), ethylene glycol (EG), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as substitutes for glycerol (GLY) in a soybean lecithin (SL)-based extender in the cryopreservation of buck sperm. In this study, the semen of three Saanen bucks was individually extended in SL supplemented with 5% GLY (control), DMF, EG, or DMSO. After this, the extended semen was cryopreserved and two straws from each group were thawed (37°C for 30 seconds), pooled, and analyzed for sperm motion parameters, plasma membrane integrity (PMI), acrosomal integrity (ACI), and high mitochondrial membrane potential (HMMP). Samples were analyzed after 15 minutes (T0) and after 2 hours of incubation at 37°C (T2). The results revealed higher values of motility (total and progressive) and sperm motion parameters for DMF than the other cryoprotectants (p   0.05) between GLY and DMF, but ACI was higher (p   0.05) were observed between GLY and DMF for unfertilized (GLY: 38.8%; DMF: 25.33%), pronucleus (GLY: 25.68%; DMF: 27.92%), and cleavage rates (GLY: 35.52%; DMF: 46.75%). Based on these results, it is concluded that DMF preserves sperm motion characteristics and ACI better than GLY, EG, and DMSO, and it is the penetrating cryoprotectant of choice for the cryopreservation of buck sperm in SL extender.