A NEW MODEL OF BOAR SEMEN EVALUATION AND THE IMPACT OF CRYOGENIC FACTOR ON SPERMATIC CELLS

Nowadays, sperm evaluation is mostly used to predict fertility and freezability. The aim of this study is to evaluate the possibility of investigating the effects of the cryogenic agent on boar spermatozoa, by identifying a set of laboratory tests for a rapid and efficient evaluation of semen quality. Usual sperm analysis such as sperm concentration, motility and spermatozoa morphology are not able to show subtle abnormalities, which are having a basic role in the fertilizing ability. Moreover, it seems that other sperm characteristics, involved in the fertilizing ability, can interfere with the freezing-thawing processes, being not evaluated or maybe not known. Morphological (microscopic analysis of stained spermatozoa), functional (motility analysis and hypo-osmotic swelling test) and chromatin integrity (Acridine Orange Test and Comet Assay) analysis were performed aiming to show the differences in spermatozoon integrity and functionality, caused by the cryogenic factor