Boar sperm thawing practices: the number of straws does matter.

The number of straws thawed has been largely neglected in reports of boar sperm cryopreservation. Whereas previous studies confirm the effect of sperm concentration on function and survival of thawed boar spermatozoa, it is still unknown whether, for a same concentration, total number of sperm in the thawing solution affects its mechanics. The present trial sought to define good boar sperm thawing practices by checking if a minimal number of straws as well as the percentage of air volume in the thawing tube should be stated or not to decrease variability from one trial to another. In a first assay, three tubes with different numbers of thawed straws were compared in terms of motility and membrane integrity: control (C, four straws), T1.1 (two straws), and T1.2 (one straw). In a second parallel assay, the sperm motility was evaluated when one straw was thawed in a tube containing 86.67% of air volume (T2.1), and when the tube contained < 1% air volume (T2.2). In all treatments the final concentration of sperm in Beltsville thawing solution (BTS) was 1:3 (v:v) and quality parameters were assessed 4 h after thawing. Results showed the number of straws does affect motility parameters but not the membrane integrity, whereas less air volume in the tube nonsignificantly minimizes data deviation among replicates. In conclusion, it is recommended the use of four straws at 1:3 (v:v) to maintain motility records in boar sperm thawing practices as well as to be provided with vials that fit the sperm volume.

A PCR technique to detect enterotoxigenic and verotoxigenic Escherichia coli in boar semen samples.

In semen, bacteria's isolation from a pure culture is complex, laborious and easily alterable by the presence of antibiotics and inhibitors. We developed a PCR technique to detect the presence of the enterotoxigenic (ETEC) and verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) (strains with high prevalence in the swine industry) in semen by adapting the protocols developed by Zhang et al. (2007) and Yilmaz et al. (2006). We artificially inoculated extended semen samples at different infective concentrations of bacteria (from 10(2) to 10(8) bacteria ml(-1)) with two enterotoxigenic and verotoxigenic strains, and performed two multiplex and one conventional PCR. This technique proved to be a quick, useful and reliable tool to detect the presence of ETEC and VTEC up to an infective dose of 10(5) bacteria ml(-1) in semen.

Effects of different concentrations of enterotoxigenic and verotoxigenic E. coli on boar sperm quality.

The presence of bacteria in boar semen causes economic losses in artificial insemination (AI) centers, as a consequence of alterations on boar sperm quality. For this reason, the effects of different concentrations of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and verotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC) on boar sperm quality were determined in this study, by conducting two experiments. The first one consisted of assessing these effects on boar sperm quality after incubating the inoculated doses at 37°C for a 96-h period, whereas the second inoculated doses were stored at 15°C during 11 days. In both experiments, the infective concentrations ranged from 10(8)cfu mL(-1) to 10(2)cfu mL(-1); the negative control being a non-inoculated dose. Twenty-four hours after inoculation, we checked by PCR for the presence of bacteria in all tubes. Sperm quality (sperm motility, sperm viability and sperm morphology) was assessed at 24h, 48h, 72h and 96h after inoculations in the first experiment (37°C), and after 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 days in the second (15°C). Whereas no changes were observed in sperm morphology in both experiments, the percentages of progressive motile spermatozoa dramatically diminished after 24h of incubation at 37°C, the effect being more detrimental at the highest infective concentration of microbes. Moreover, a significant decrease in the percentage of viable spermatozoa in the tube inoculated with the highest concentration (10(8)cfu mL(-1)) was detected after 24h of incubating contaminated doses at 37°C. After 48h of incubation, the presence of infective concentrations of ETEC and VTEC from 10(8)cfu mL(-1) to 10(3)cfu mL(-1) resulted in a significant diminution in the percentage of viable spermatozoa. These results suggest that ETEC and VTEC PCR analyses should be done in doses destined for AI to minimize the use of doses with diminished sperm quality due to the presence of bacteria and to avoid the potential spread of infective diseases.